TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED AGAINST MAN WITH CO2 GUN AFTER LOCKDOWN AT HILLSDALE MIDDLE SCHOOL
East County News Service February 7, 2025 (Rancho San Diego) – Hillsdale Middle School on Brabham Street in Rancho San Diego was placed on lockdown for about 15 minutes due to a call reporting a man with what appeared to be a gun in front the school shortly before 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Deputies from the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s Station were given a description of the man as they drove to the school. Out of an abundance of caution, deputies requested the school to be placed on lockdown. Once they arrived at Hillsdale Middle School, located in unincorporated El Cajon, deputies found a man fitting the description outside of campus and detained him for questioning. “The man, 46, from La Mesa, was found in possession of a non-lethal handgun powered by carbon dioxide (CO2),” says Sgt. Manuel Heredia. After an investigation, it was determined the man had not committed a crime and he was released on scene. The lockdown at the school was lifted after about 15 minutes. No one was hurt. Deputies continued to work with school staff and Campus Safety Officers from the Cajon Valley Union School District, who have had previous negative encounters with the man. As a result of these incidents, deputies were able to obtain an emergency temporary protective order against the man, so he cannot come near the school. As a precaution, Sheriff’s Deputies will be conducting extra patrols at Hillsdale Middle School on Friday, February 7. If you see something, say something. Report any criminal or suspicious activity by calling the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office at (858) 868-3200. In the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1.
MY 2025 POINT-IN-TIME COUNT EXPERIENCE
By Supervisor Joel Anderson February 7, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) — Recently, I joined thousands of volunteers across San Diego County in participating in the 2025 #WeAllCount Point-in-Time Count – San Diego County’s annual homelessness census. This was my fourth time participating in the count, which is crucial to collecting data on the number and needs of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego County. This data is used all year long to help our region make decisions on where and how to target and advocate for funding in our efforts to address homelessness countywide. About 40 of us met at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in El Cajon at 3:30 a.m. and set out to locate and survey people living in encampments and along the riverbeds. For me, this annual event is more than just a morning of data collection. This count puts real faces and names behind San Diego County’s homelessness crisis and creates a new sense of urgency for anyone who participates. Their stories have played a big role in informing my policies and ideas to address homelessness, and helping determine where we can improve. Since taking office in 2021, we have successfully implemented several innovative programs to address homelessness throughout San Diego County, with a particular focus in East County. These policies and programs include: Opening a Safe Parking lot in East County Successfully advocated for $850k from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51) for a Safe Parking lot in Grantville (opening soon) Creating a Memorandum of Understanding on addressing homeless between the County of San Diego and East County cities Launching the Shallow Rent Subsidy Program to keep seniors off the streets and their homes Successfully obtained $17M in funding from the CA Governor’s Office to address homelessness along the San Diego Riverbed through a collective partnership between the City of San Diego, County of San Diego, Caltrans, and the City of Santee Initiating a housing match program for seniors looking to live with other seniors Empowering local churches and nonprofits to host temporary emergency shelter sleeping cabins on their properties through a county grant Check out this video below to follow along with me throughout the morning and see what the count is all about! The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.