Campus Alert Archive
Mills

Two Felony Suspects Who Crashed a Car and Scaled the Fence Put Mills College on Lockdown for Three Hours

CAlockdownemergency notificationmedium confidence

On January 18, 2019, Oakland Police Department officers pursuing two felony suspects entered Mills College after the men crashed their car near I-580 and climbed over a campus fence. Mills Public Safety issued a shelter-in-place order just after 11:30 AM PST and staff were notified to remain indoors. The second suspect was located by a K-9 unit in the campus Corporation Yard nearly three hours later; both men were arrested and the all-clear was issued at 2:57 PM PST.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Mills College
Private Liberal Arts · CA
Mills Public Safety Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimThe Campanil (Mills College student newspaper) quoting the verbatim Mills College Alert System email sent at 11:38 AM PST and texted at 12:10 PM PST129 chars
Mills College alert: Police Emergency at (location). Remain indoors, seek immediate indoor shelter and deny entry (lockdown) now!
The Campanil quoted this as the exact text of the Mills College Alert System email sent to students at 11:38 AM PST, with the same message texted at 12:10 PM PST on January 18, 2019
The '(location)' parenthetical appears in the quoted alert exactly as published; it reads as a template placeholder or redaction for the specific campus location, preserved verbatim
The two suspects had crashed their car near I-580, Seminary Avenue, and Calaveras Avenue before scaling the fence on the southeast side of campus -- a residential area bordering the Mills campus
The 'deny entry (lockdown)' phrasing reflects standardized lockdown terminology, instructing recipients to barricade rather than simply shelter passively
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction174 chars
MILLS ALERT: All Clear. Oakland Police have apprehended both suspects. It is now safe to resume normal campus operations. Thank you for your cooperation during this incident.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The all-clear was issued at 2:57 PM PST, approximately 3 hours and 27 minutes after OPD arrived on campus at 11:30 AM
The second suspect was located by a police dog in the Corporation Yard -- a maintenance and facilities area in the interior of campus -- suggesting he had moved deeper into the campus during the manhunt
OPD confirmed the all-clear before Public Safety sent the notification, consistent with standard protocol of waiting for law enforcement to declare the scene safe
Context

Background

Mills College, founded in 1852, was a historic private women's liberal arts college situated on a 135-acre campus in the Oakland hills at the edge of Dimond District, bordered on the south by Interstate 580. On the morning of January 18, 2019 -- the first Friday of winter break -- two men suspected of an undisclosed felony crashed their car in the area of I-580, Seminary Avenue, and Calaveras Avenue. Rather than surrendering, both men scaled a fence on the southeast side of the Mills campus and fled into the wooded interior. Oakland Police Department officers arrived at approximately 11:30 AM PST and Mills Public Safety issued a shelter-in-place order to all staff (students were on winter break and not on campus). The first suspect surrendered without incident near the point of entry around noon. The second suspect evaded officers for nearly three additional hours before an OPD K-9 unit located him in the campus Corporation Yard, an interior maintenance area, at approximately 2:50 PM PST. Both men were arrested and the all-clear was issued at 2:57 PM PST. No students, faculty, or staff reported contact with the suspects before their apprehension. The incident highlighted the campus's geographic vulnerability along the I-580 corridor -- a heavily trafficked freeway where vehicle pursuits and crashes regularly end near residential areas adjacent to the campus.
Analysis

Key Findings

Mills College is a historic women's college that later merged with Northeastern University in 2022; this 2019 lockdown is among the last major security incidents during its independent existence
The timing -- winter break, staff only -- meant the shelter-in-place affected only employees and minimized community disruption, though it illustrates that campus boundaries are porous along the I-580 freeway corridor
A three-plus-hour lockdown to locate a single suspect who was not armed (per reports) illustrates the resource demands of interior-campus manhunts in wooded college campuses
The OPD K-9 apprehension in the Corporation Yard -- a non-academic facilities area -- reflects how suspects entering campuses often move toward service areas away from main traffic to avoid detection
Outcome
Both suspects were arrested without injury to campus community members. Students were on winter break and not present on campus, so only staff were affected. Two men were taken into custody: the first surrendered around noon near where he entered, the second was apprehended by OPD K-9 in the Corporation Yard at approximately 2:50 PM PST.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Mills College locked down as Oakland Police conduct manhunt -- The Campanil
    thecampanil.com
  2. News
    2 arrested after police search, Mills College lockdown in Oakland -- ABC7 San Francisco
    abc7news.com
  3. News
    Suspects Arrested After Oakland Police Manhunt Near Mills College -- CBS San Francisco
    cbsnews.com
  4. News
    Mills College Lockdown Lifted Following Police Search for Suspect -- NBC Bay Area
    nbcbayarea.com
Tags
lockdownmanhuntpolice-pursuitwomens-collegeprivate-liberal-artscaliforniaoaklandk9shelter-in-placefence-breachhistoric-institution
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion