Sheriff’s deputies arrested two suspects on Pepperdine’s Malibu campus Wednesday afternoon, after multiple reports of a white SUV with a gun pointed out the driver’s window was seen driving onto campus. The gun was later determined to be a BB gun, according to a University email.
University officials first alerted the community through email and an automated phone call at 3:04 p.m. The University issued three more alerts updating the community that two suspects had been located and arrested between 3:26 p.m. and 3:38 p.m.
Executive Vice President Phil Phillips and other University officials held a briefing Wednesday at 4:15 p.m., on the behalf of the Emergency Operations Committee. Housing and Residence Life, Student Government Association President Myers Mentzer and representatives of other Pepperdine groups attended the briefing.
An unidentified caller alerted the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department about the white SUV driving down PCH, Phillips said. Deputies were dispatched to find the vehicle on campus with the license plate number given by Junior Soleil Velasco, Phillips said.
“As L.A. Sheriff’s Department was interviewing our students, we had all of our patrol people and others just circling campus,” Phillips said.
Velasco was at the nearby Country Mart with her friends when she first saw the white SUV with what she said looked to be a rifle pointing out the window. Velasco and her friends drove back to campus when they found themselves behind the white SUV taking the same road back, Velasco said.
Velasco and her friends reached the stoplight at the intersection of Civic Center Way and Malibu Canyon when they began taking photos and videos of the SUV.
The driver was shooting at the road signs while at the stop light, Velasco said.
The SUV continued onto Seaver Drive entering campus through the permit lane, she said. Velasco said she told the DPS officer at the gate before being instructed to call the DPS dispatch line.
Velasco said once she entered campus, she saw the driver continue on Seaver Drive as her friend turned left onto Banowsky Boulevard toward Firestone.
The vehicle circled campus before the L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies apprehended the suspects at the corner of John Tyler Drive and Banowsky Boulevard, Phillips said. When deputies searched the vehicle they found a BB gun, the only weapon in the car, according to the University.
“That was the first time we knew what it [BB gun] was,” Phillips said.
The vehicle was on Pepperdine’s campus between 20 and 30 minutes, Phillips said.
Phillips confirmed the vehicle, which is not registered through the university, had been on campus before and had been issued a parking citation in February. The vehicle was not seen on campus again until August 19, the first day of classes for Seaver College.
At the briefing, junior Trevor Molnar said he was in class in Elkins Auditorium during the incident when he pressed the lockdown button and it didn’t work. Elkins is a large lecture hall that seats up to 399 people. The lockdown button is intended to secure the doors to prevent intruders from entering the building, while still allowing occupants to leave.
Following the briefing, technicians evaluated the emergency lockdown system, said Ben Veenendaal, vice president for Planning, Operations and Construction. Technicians determined the lockdown system failed to work during the incident after having undergone a software update, also known as a security patch, last week, Veenendaal said. Veenendaal confirmed the lockdown system is now working.
Veenendaal said he is looking into adding a second layer of security as soon as possible to alert the system if the computer program command is not working.
President Jim Gash said the University will provide additional updates in the coming days.
Counseling is available for students 24/7 online on the app “Timely Care,” Connie Horton said.
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Contact Rachel Flynn via email: rachel.flynn@pepperdine.edu
Contact Gabrielle Salgado via email: gabrielle.salgado@pepperdine.edu
