O.C. high school on lockdown after dad allegedly pulls BB gun

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An Orange County high school went into lockdown Friday afternoon when an angry father allegedly brandished a BB gun after starting a fight with a vice principal, police said.

The parent became agitated after he was told he could not pick up his child at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa because the family had an active restraining order against him, according to school officials.

“It’s difficult to tell a parent you don’t have rights to your child,” said Laura Boss, a spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The man then began pushing and shoving the vice principal, Boss said.

The scuffle spilled out of the administrative office and into the hallway, where the father pulled out a pistol.

A security guard sprinted through the halls, yelling that there was a gun on campus about 12:50 p.m., prompting students to hide or take cover behind desks.

“I just heard yelling, ‘There’s a gun, there’s a gun.’ It kept progressing and getting louder and louder,” sophomore Johnny Juarez said. “He ran by our class, and you could just see his face was pure fear.”

Police quickly responded and took the man into custody, school officials said.

It was quickly determined that the weapon was a BB gun.

The lockdown was lifted at 1:30 p.m.

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-- Jeremiah Dobruck and Lauren Williams, Times Community News