Reported burglary brings heavy police presence to Santa Maria neighborhood

UPDATE 10PM PST: A neighborhood on edge and a school on lockdown.

“This is a little scary.. you know, not knowing what’s going on and coming home and see all the activity,” said Newlove Drive resident Christie Perkins.

“When everybody came out of my classroom, I saw that helicopter that’s over there flying around here and around the school. I was scared because I thought somebody had a gun and they were gonna shoot,” said Battles Elementary School student, Eric Martinez.

Police say around 1:30 Monday afternoon, they saw two teenage boys running away in the area of a reported burglary off East Newlove Drive.

While officers were able to arrest one of the teens, the other got away with a weapon believed to be stolen.

Students say Battles Elementary School went on lock down for about 45 minutes during this time.

Families who live off Newlove Drive weren’t able to head back into their homes as police swarmed the area.

“They might shoot our trailer or do something else,” said Martinez.

Santa Maria Police were able to find the other alleged burglar hiding in the bushes nearby.

The stolen firearm was found close to the home where they believe the burglary happened.

While students were able to leave school on time..Several we spoke with were still scared about what happened

“It took a lot of time. We didn’t know what was happening,” Martinez said.

“It was kinda scary and I didn’t know what was going on.. I thought it was like a practice,” said Battles Elementary School student, Faizon White.

Now because the two suspects are juveniles, SMPD will not be releasing their names or pictures.

Officers are looking in to see if these teens have any connection to other burglaries that have taken place in the past week.

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ORIGINAL STORY: Police are currently searching for a reported burglary suspect in Santa Maria that led to a nearby elementary school to go on lockdown on Monday.

Neighbors in the area of Miller Street and Newlove Drive say an individual broke into a home in the neighborhood and stole a shotgun. Other witnesses say they saw the individual walking around the neighborhood with the weapon.

Although authorities are not confirming these reports, the incident prompted a heavy police presence in the area that led to Battles Elementary School on lockdown. That lockdown was lifted by 2:30 p.m., the school’s regular dismissal time.

One person has been arrested in connection with this incident but police continue searching for a second individual.

No further details were immediately known. We will update this story when new information becomes available.