Santa Barbara City College went on lockdown Tuesday morning after a person pulled a knife on someone and then slashed their bike tire, before fleeing the scene.
The incident shook up the college a week before classes were set to start and when staff and teachers were gathering for meetings before the launch of the semester.
Campus safety officers responded to the incident in the parking lot between La Playa Stadium and the campus bookstore.
Just before 11 a.m., someone pushed an individual and pulled a knife on them, said Jordan Killebrew, the college’s spokesman.
Then the individual slashed the victim’s tire before running from the scene, Killebrew said.
Santa Barbara Police Department officers arrived shortly after the event unfolded..
Killebrew said the suspect was last seen fleeing toward the parking lot on campus near Cliff Drive.
Santa Barbara police and City College reviewed video footage of the incident and determined that the suspect had left campus.
The Rinehart family was at the campus bookstore to buy textbooks for daughter Hadley when the campus went on lockdown.
Heather Rinehart, Hadley’s mother, said she was pleased with how quickly law enforcement officers responded to the scene.
“It was a quick response,” Heather said. “Makes us feel, you know, a little bit comfortable because we’re leaving her down here.”
