Calaveras Elementary School went into an emergency two-hour
lockdown Friday when two parents
– one carrying a gun – got into a fight in the parking lot
during the school’s Christmas program.
Hollister – Calaveras Elementary School went into an emergency two-hour lockdown Friday when two parents – one carrying a gun – got into a fight in the parking lot during the school’s Christmas program.
San Benito County Sheriff’s Detective Tom Keylon was driving past the school Friday and saw the two men fighting in the parking lot. He pulled out his weapon and ordered both men to the ground at which point a gun fell out of one of the suspect’s pockets, Keylon said. He secured the weapon and called for backup.
“There was a lot of people screaming and trying to get away,” Keylon said. “Not knowing who else was involved, I ordered the school to go on lockdown. It was lucky we had officers happen upon it – who knows what could have happened.”
At 11:10am, in the middle of the school’s Christmas music program, Principal Christine White initiated “Code Blue” procedures, locking down all entrances to the school and forcing students to stay in their classrooms.
Several parents attending the Christmas program had called police when the two men began fighting and both were arrested by Hollister police within a matter of minutes, but students remained in lockdown for two hours, White said. Both men have gang ties, but police do not believe the incident was gang related, Police Spokesman George Ramirez said. No one was injured and no shots were fired, police said.
Police believe the two Hollister men, Peter Prado, 27, and Mark Farve, 37, began fighting over a personal dispute, Ramirez said. Both men were attending the Christmas program and both are parents of students at the school, White said.
Prado was arrested on charges including possession of a firearm on campus, possession of a firearm by a felon, assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a deadly weapon and fighting on campus, police said. Farve was arrested for fighting on campus and violating a court order.
Veronica Ceja, who learned about the incident while picking up her 7-year-old daughter Eileen, was upset.
“It concerns me,” she said. “Why would parents be here with guns? Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Her daughter, Eileen, a fourth grader, said she was never scared and that the incident did not ruin the Christmas program.
“We were having a party and then I think someone said there was a gun,” she told her mother. “Everybody went into the classrooms and all of the doors were locked and nobody could come in.”
District Superintendent Ron Crates, who has dealt with similar situations at his last post at the Redwood City Unified School District, was outraged that the personal dispute between the two men erupted on a school campus during school hours. Crates said violence would not be tolerated at any school campus.
“Stay off my school campuses, period,” he said.
Upon learning about the situation, Crates immediately drove to the school to assist teachers, parents and students.
“My first concern was the safety of the kids,” he said. “This is the type of situation we have to be prepared for and we were.”
The lockdown occurred during lunch and teachers stayed in their classrooms with the students, Crates said.
“I asked the kids and they said they felt safe,” he said. “They felt good about being on campus.”
Although the school’s Christmas program was briefly interrupted, students were able to continue with their musical performances throughout the lockdown, White said.
“We went into immediate lockdown,” White said. “We actually stopped the program and told parents that they would not be able to leave. We knew what was going on and made sure all the kids were safe.”
Two weeks ago, the school had an emergency lockdown drill and White said everyone acted quickly.
“Because of the increase of violent activity in our community, we have been very alert,” White said. “The students already knew what a lockdown was and were prepared.”
Although many of the students did not know exactly what was happening, some were frightened by the incident.
“A couple of students were nervous, but we assured them that they were safe,” White said. “When you’re dealing with this kind of situation you don’t want to scare the students, you don’t announce what is going on, you just say ‘code blue.'”
White praised the work of her staff in locking down the school and keeping students clam.
Crates also praised both the Hollister Police and San Benito County Sheriff deputies for their quick response.
San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill was disheartened by the incident.
“These two individuals felt it was necessary to settle their differences during the middle of a school Christmas program,” he said. “That’s just said.”
Hill said both men had been in jail before, but did not know what they had been charged with.
He also praised Keylon’s work as the first person on the scene. Keylon had seen one of the suspects talking with San Benito County Marshall Robert Scattini a half hour earlier and decided to stop by on his way back from another investigation. That’s when he spotted the fight.
“I’m proud of the work of my deputy,” Hill said. “He was in the right place at the right time. Perhaps we prevented something more serious from happening.”
Under District Attorney’s new zero-tolerance policy for gun crime, Prado will not be able to plea to lesser charges.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
