Campus Alert Archive
Palomar

A Stray Bullet at a Youth Baseball Game Locked Down Palomar College

CAlockdownemergency notificationmedium confidence
Under Investigation

Palomar College's San Marcos campus was placed on lockdown the evening of May 9, 2023, after gunfire was reported at the adjacent Mission Sports Park, where a bullet struck a youth baseball field between first and second base during a game. The college locked down around 8:11 p.m. PDT as the San Diego County Sheriff's Department searched for a shooter, then lifted the lockdown at 9:28 p.m. PDT with no suspect located. No injuries were reported.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Palomar College
Community College · CA
~18,000 studentsPalomar Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction168 chars
Palomar Alert: The San Marcos campus is on LOCKDOWN due to police activity nearby. Shelter in place, lock doors, stay away from windows, and await further instructions.

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

Reconstructed lockdown wording: news coverage reported the 8:11 p.m. PDT lockdown and the shelter-in-place instruction but did not republish Palomar's exact alert text.
The lockdown was precautionary — the gunfire originated at the neighboring Mission Sports Park, not on the campus itself.
ALL CLEARSMS+1h 17m
Approximate reconstruction113 chars
Palomar Alert: The lockdown has been LIFTED. The San Marcos campus is clear and safe. Normal activity may resume.

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

Reconstructed all-clear matching the reported 9:28 p.m. PDT lift time; the exact notification wording was not published.
Coverage noted the sheriff's department had not located a suspect when the lockdown was lifted, so the all-clear reflected campus safety rather than case resolution.
Context

Background

On the evening of May 9, 2023, a shooting was reported at Mission Sports Park in San Marcos, where a stray bullet bounced onto a youth baseball field and into a dugout during a game without striking anyone. The nearby Palomar College San Marcos campus was placed on lockdown around 8:11 p.m. PDT as a precaution while the San Diego County Sheriff's Department searched the area, according to Fox 5 San Diego. The Times of San Diego reported the lockdown was lifted at 9:28 p.m. PDT with no suspect located. The incident is a textbook example of an off-campus hazard — a shooting at an adjacent public park — forcing a community college to invoke its emergency-notification lockdown protocol.
Analysis

Key Findings

The lockdown was triggered by gunfire at the adjacent Mission Sports Park, not on the Palomar campus itself
A stray bullet struck a youth baseball field during a game but no one was injured
The lockdown ran roughly 77 minutes, from about 8:11 p.m. to 9:28 p.m. PDT, and was lifted before any suspect was found
Outcome
No suspect or witnesses to the origin of the shooting were located as of the following afternoon. No one was struck; the bullet bounced into a dugout during a youth baseball game.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Palomar College in San Marcos placed on lockdown after reported shooting at nearby sports complex
    fox5sandiego.com
  2. News
    Shooting Sends Bullet Into Busy San Marcos Park During Youth Baseball Games
    timesofsandiego.com
  3. News
    Watch: Stray Bullet Nearly Hits Kids Playing Baseball in San Marcos
    nbcsandiego.com
Tags
lockdownemergency-notificationcaliforniacommunity-collegeoff-campus-threatstray-gunfiresan-marcosUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion