Man with shotgun causes DHS schools to be locked down

Desert Hot Springs police officers said multiple schools were locked down Thursday afternoon due to a man reported with a shotgun south of Desert Hot Springs High School at about 12 p.m.

Desert Hot Springs police said the lock downs were lifted at 1 p.m.

According to DHS Police Chief Dale Mondary, the police department received a phone call at about 12 p.m. from a man who said he had a shotgun and was going to shoot himself near Cactus Drive and 8th Street. Officers located his vehicle in the desert area but couldn’t find the man.

The first arriving officer did see the man with a shotgun walking toward the back of his SUV, but then the officer lost sight of him, prompting authorities to lock down surrounding schools in the area. Desert Hot Springs High School, Bella Vista Elementary School, Painted Hills Elementary School, and Ed Wenzlaff Schools were the schools that were put into lock down protocol.

A CHP airplane helped officers determine theman was at the rear of the SUV and wasn’t moving. Authorities were able to approach the man with officers providing cover. When they arrived to the man, they determined he was deceased from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Police searched the man’s vehicle and his home to make sure there weren’t any other victims.

Crime scene investigators are looking into the situation and the locdowns have been lifted as of 1 p.m., according to Chief Mondary. The man who shot himself didn’t get anywhere near Desert Hot Springs High School; the school was asked to go on lock down only as a precaution.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 is at the scene working to get more information.

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