Added McGaugh Elementary Security Is Precaution Amid TikTok Threat, Police Say

SEAL BEACH, CA — Though no specific threats were made toward Seal Beach or Orange County schools, police promised to have an enhanced presence around McGaugh Elementary School, Friday.

On Thursday, a nationwide "challenge" on the social media app TikTok warned of potential school violence Friday, prompting school districts across California to take precautions. Several school districts sent notices home to families warning of the broad threat of school violence Friday. Many districts increased security; one high school in the Bay Area preemptively canceled school for the day. The Santa Clara County Office of Education, Mt. Diablo, Pleasanton and Livermore Valley Joint Unified, the Westminster school district and now Seal Beach Police all sent out warnings to parents.

The open discussion of social media threats, whether real or perceived, is just part of the newly added safety measures proposed by the Seal Beach Chief of Police Philip L. Gonshak.

Following the Oxford Michigan High School shooting, Gonshak said that the department was "deeply disturbed by the actions of that cowardly suspect."

He asked that Seal Beach residents know that the department recognizes their role in the protection of the area's children, faculty and staff at the McGaugh Elementary School.

The department decided to staff extra officers on campus and increase patrols around the school to monitor information about the non-specific threat, Lt. Nick Nicholas said.

"At this time, the Seal Beach Police Department is not aware of any specific threats made regarding McGaugh Elementary School," Lt. Nick Nicholas reported late Thursday.

Gonshak and Principal Dr. Isaaic Gates of McGaugh Elementary School speak regularly, according to the police chief.

The pair have orchestrated measures to keep students safe, including:

To prove this dedication, the following measures have been established over the past few years, Gonshak said, including:

1. All individuals who are not a McGaugh student, not a Los Alamitos Unified
School District employee, or not signed into the front office for volunteerism, will be escorted off campus by 7:55 AM.
2. All campus gates are then immediately locked thereafter.
3. Dozens of surveillance cameras were installed throughout school grounds.
(Live feeds are directly monitored and/or accessed from both our dispatch and watch commander centers.)
4. Video entrance monitor installed for the front office staff.
5. Emergency evacuations and lockdown drills performed monthly.
6. Two (2) Seal Beach Police Officers designated to the Community Oriented
Policing (COP) Team, Kendra Owen, and David Rael-Brook, provide direct
campus engagement.
7. Active violent offender drills, involving all facets of public safety and school staff will continue to be practiced.
8. Continued monthly PTA meeting attendance by Seal Beach Police
Department staff to provide critical and timely, safety updates.
9. Quarterly meetings with the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board,
Superintendent, and key City of Seal Beach staff.
Items forthcoming:

1. Building and class numbers painted on rooftops for aerial support (December 2021).
2. Ongoing threat assessments to improve security and response measures by
all public safety entities (December 2021).
3. Partnering with Dr. Gates and Seal Beach Police Department staff for a Town Hall/Community Safety Brief (January 2021).

Gonshak asks that all families in Seal Beach, whether their children attend McGaugh Elementary or another school, to assist us as partners in school safety by doing the following:

1. Discuss current events and do not hold back on the realities of the times we
face.
2. Assist McGaugh Staff by making the campus as safe as possible by leaving
before 7:55 AM.
3. Do not ever hesitate to call us on 911 for an emergency or call (562) 594-
7232 for non-emergencies.