Aftermath of Tuesday's School Lockdown in Mission Viejo

Students from four Mission Viejo schools . It was part of routine school procedure, something students and staff practice regularly, said Tammy Blakely, assistant to the superintendent at Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

But for students suddenly locked into their classrooms with police shouting and running nearby, the procedure felt like anything but routine.

"My son called me while on the floor in a dark classroom with the shades drawn at La Paz (Intermediate)," parent Jim Pasala said. "He sounded calm and brave the entire time and even prayed."

Police had reason to believe they were chasing a bank robber. . And that student may have distracted police from a more serious criminal.

So how does a school lockdown work? Why is it done? And how did Mission Viejo's lockdown work out Tuesday?

School staff is taught to find anyone outside of school and bring them into the nearest building, then lock the doors, Blakely said.

How effective the school's lockdown procedure was Tuesday is still being reviewed, she said.

On Tuesday at 1 p.m., the Orange County Sheriff's Department made the decision to lock down the four public schools, which were Mission Viejo High, La Paz Intermediate, Esperanza Special Intermediate and High School and Linda Vista Elementary.

The danger of the situation made the decision easy, said OCSD Sgt. Sandi Kirsch.

"In this situation, we didn't know who we had," she said. "We didn't know why he was hiding, who we were chasing. All we knew is we were having a lot of deputies heading to the area and they would have guns. We don't know where this person will run—like this (truant) kid, he ran onto La Paz Middle School."

At the same time, students from MVHS were returning from lunch, filling the nearby streets.

Kirsch said the situation highlights the importance of listening to police during an emergency. She said the truant student found more trouble than he was looking for.

"This kid I'm sure had several guns pointed at him," Kirsch said. "Did he really want that?"

Some parents were unhappy with the school district's efforts to explain the lockdown. A parent of a La Paz student who identified herself as Kelly on a Patch story had this to say:

"I called after school... I asked if we would receive a letter or phone tree message from the principal with the details of the incident. She said no, I should watch the news!"

Blakely said calls were made and messages were sent out to students after sheriffs lifted the lockdown. She said it was up to each school to do so.

But she added some parents may not have gotten the message. She recommends contacting your school to make sure your phone number and e-mail address is current.

And what should students do to be safe during a lockdown?

"They should be going into any classroom or any building that is closest to them, they should follow staff's directions, and they should know staff will do everything possible to maintain a safe campus," Blakely said.