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Parent Takes Teacher Hostage And Barricades Himself In Riverside Elementary School, Students Evacuated
A male parent barricaded himself inside a Riverside elementary school after taking a teacher hostage late Tuesday morning. All students have been evacuated from the school and the hostage situation remains active.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that police first arrived at Castle View Elementary just before 11:30 a.m. The school was placed on lockdown "due to a disturbance inside of a classroom," and students were evacuated, according to a statement from Riverside Unified School District. All students had been safely evacuated to neighboring Castleview Park by 1:25 p.m., according to a second statement from the district.
Riverside Police Department spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback described the incident as a "barricaded hostage situation," according to KTLA.
“Right now it’s still an active situation, but the students are safe," Justin Grayson, spokesman for the district, told the Press-Enterprise.
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Update [3:15 p.m.] Riverside Police held a press conference at 3 p.m. on the ongoing hostage situation. Speaking before reporters, Riverside Police Department spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said that everyone had been evacuated from the campus except for a few staff members, the hostage, and the barricaded suspect. Railsback said that SWAT was on the scene, along with an emergency negotiations team.
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