On August 31, 2023, Hawthorne Math and Science Academy (HMSA) underwent a lockdown that spanned from the end of third period to the end of the school day. Timewise, that’s around 12:10 to 3:30, lasting over 3 hours. In total, students were stuck in their third period classes for 5 hours.

Not only was the whole school shut down, but so was the road down Grevillea Avenue and Hawthorne Way. Students and families were advised via email about the situation and told that they would be having a controlled release. An email was sent by our principal, Esau Berumen. He stated that “our school was advised by the Hawthorne Police Department to enter a lockdown status as a precautionary measure” because the police were investigating “suspicious activity in our neighborhood.”

The controlled release consisted of classes being let out one by one and students being prevented from walking down Grevillea Avenue, Hawthorne Way, and 120th Street. Instead, they were given instructions on where to walk based on where they live. The email stated that students that live south, southeast, or east would have to walk down Grevillea Avenue toward El Segundo Blvd. Students that live west or north of HMSA were told to walk west on Broadway towards Inglewood Ave.

All in all, it was a scary situation for a lot of students and families, especially with how close the situation was to our school. Additionally, this was the first time since 2003 that the school had to use the lockdown system, adding to the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully, from what I can gather, no one was hurt and the individual responsible for the lockdown was apprehended safely.