Hostage situation ends at Oroville school; student in custody

OROVILLE -- A tense hostage situation at an Oroville high school ended about an hour after it started Friday morning when Butte County Sheriff's deputies took a 17-year-old gunman into custody and reported that all hostages were safe and uninjured.

The Las Plumas High School student fired numerous shots randomly into the air at the start of the standoff around 9:15 a.m. Initially, about 30 students were in the Las Plumas band room where the situation evolved, but all except three either were allowed to leave or escaped, Capt. Jerry Smith said.

The boy had a .22-caliber handgun, Smith said.

"He had no history at the school of being a troublemaker or otherwise," he said.

Smith said the motive had not yet been determined.

However, Ricky Scurby, 16, said he was in class with the alleged gunman's girlfriend during the ordeal. Scurby said the hostage-taker called the girl from the band room, where the hostages were being held. The girlfriend had broken up with him the night before, she told classmates.

According to Scurby, the girl talked to boy, trying to calm him down and telling him: "I love you. I still love you."

The girlfriend, crying hysterically, said that the boy told her he didn't "want to live anymore."

Officials are questioning the boy, as well as the three female students who were held hostage for more than an hour Friday.

Smith said the young gunman faces a variety of potential charges, including kidnapping and assault.

Sheriff's officials said the school resource officer, Will Brewton, lead negotiations with the gunman.

"We are very fortunate that the SRO was also a trained hostage negotiator," Smith said.

The boy spoke to negotiators via cell phone during the brief standoff. He did make demands during negotiations, Smith said.

"I think he wanted cigarettes," he said.

The boy surrendered to law enforcement around 10:40 a.m.

Frantic parents of Las Plumas High students were instructed to go to the Church of the Nazarene on Monte Vista Avenue, where students were sent.

At noon, more than a dozen school buses had pulled into the church parking lot, where students slowly filed into a meeting room to be reunited with parents. The students appeared calm. The school has a football game scheduled Friday night, and several girls were dressed in cheerleader outfits and boys were wearing football jerseys.

At the church, Kailena Malotte -- a 16-year-old junior -- said she was in her fashion design class next to the band room when the incident started. She said she heard an announcement over the loudspeakers saying it was a lockdown and not a drill.

"All of a sudden, we heard a big pop," Malotte said. Her teacher shuffled the whole class into a utility closet and locked the door. While in the closet, Malotte said, she called and texted her parents several times.

"I was thinking of my entire family (during the ordeal)," she recalled. "My dad told me to be a leader and just be strong. I've done reports on Columbine and obviously heard of this sort of thing, but I never thought it would happen here."

Later, she and her classmates were let out of the closet and were told to run to another classroom. Out of a window, she saw a boy being led away in handcuffs.

As she spoke, Malotte was clutching her mother's hand outside the church. Her mother, Kelina Malotte, wiped away tears as she said, "I'm still nervous."

The scene at the church marked the end of a roller-coaster morning for the parents. Many, hearing what was happening, rushed to the church parking lot. Early on, word spread that two students had been shot, sending a wave of panic through the parents.

That rumor was quickly cleared up by law enforcement officials.

Many parents applauded the local police and sheriff's deputies for their quick and organized response to the incident.

"We're always afraid of this happening, but this response right here, it relieved me so much and made me proud of my county," said Sally Griffin, whose 14-year-old daughter Megan is a freshman at Los Plumas.

Counselors are stationed at the Southside Community Center on Wyandotte Avenue to deal with the aftermath.

The high school, along with five others in the Oroville Union High School District, were on lockdown Friday morning during the incident.

The lockdown has been lifted and the district is allowing students at other schools to be picked up at their schools by their parents or guardians, a notice on the district Web site states.

Schools in the Oroville Elementary School District also were on lockdown, which has since been lifted, district officials there said.

Tonight's football game at Las Plumas High, along with other extra curricular activities, has been canceled.

Several law enforcement agencies and emergency crews responded to the hostage situation, including the sheriff's department, Chico Police, Gridley Police, Oroville Police and Cal Fire crews.

Butte County Sheriff Perry Reniff expressed relief that this high school standoff ended without any deaths or injuries.

"We're very pleased that this one had a happy ending," he said.