Campus Alert Archive
Sac City

A 45-Minute Alert Delay at Sacramento City College Became a Case Study in Los Rios's 'Unacceptable' Emergency Communication Failure

CAshootingemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On September 3, 2015, three people were shot — one fatally — in a parking lot on the south edge of the Sacramento City College campus. An independent review later commissioned by the Los Rios Community College District found that the delay between the shooting and the first campus alert — up to 45 minutes for some recipients — was 'unacceptable' and was caused by human error and unfamiliarity with the warning system.

Alerts
3
Response
41 min
Killed
1
Injured
2
Institution
Sacramento City College
Community College · CA
~22,000 studentsEverbridgeLos Rios Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 2 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 verbatimCapRadio reporting quoting the verbatim 4:18 PM PDT Los Rios email to faculty, staff, and district officials140 chars
The SCC main campus is on lockdown. All staff members and instructors – close and lock your office and classroom doors until further notice.
This first notice went only to faculty, staff, and district officials by email at 4:18 PM PDT — students were not alerted by text, phone, or email until around 4:40 PM PDT, the delay the independent review called 'unacceptable'
The shooting occurred just before 4:00 PM PDT; this email was sent roughly 20 minutes later, but the broader student notification lagged by 40 to 45 minutes
An independent review by a retired FBI agent concluded the delay was caused by human error and lack of familiarity with the Los Rios warning system
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction221 chars
There has been a shooting on the south side of the Sacramento City College campus near the parking lot off Sutterville Road. Avoid the area. Police are on scene. Shelter in place if you are on campus. Updates will follow.

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

Students reported they did not receive any alert until around 4:40 PM PDT, 40 to 45 minutes after the shooting — the delay the independent review called 'unacceptable'
Many students learned of the shooting from local TV news, which was broadcasting live, before the campus alert system reached them
The shooting took place in a parking lot just north of Sutterville Road on the south edge of campus, which Los Rios initially considered a borderline jurisdictional question — the review rejected that framing
ALL CLEARTwitter/X+7h 12m
Verified verbatimSacramento City College official Twitter/X all-clear post on September 3, 2015140 chars
An all-clear has been issued after the on-campus shooting that occurred at about 4 p.m. this afternoon. Classes will be in session on Friday
Verbatim from the @SacCityCollege Twitter post issuing the all-clear after the 4:00 PM PDT shooting
The decision to hold classes Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the fatal shooting, drew criticism from faculty and students
By the time this Twitter all-clear was posted, local TV had been broadcasting live for hours — many students learned of the shooting from television, not from the college's text alert system
Context

Background

Sacramento City College is the flagship campus of the Los Rios Community College District, the largest community college district in Northern California. On September 3, 2015, at approximately 3:59 PM PDT, a physical altercation between two groups escalated when a knife and a gun were drawn in a parking lot just north of Sutterville Road on the south edge of campus. Three people were shot; 25-year-old Roman P. Gonzalez died at the scene. The shooting itself was over within seconds, but its more lasting impact on the campus alert system community was the 45-minute delay before students received any alert. An independent review commissioned by Los Rios and conducted by a retired FBI agent concluded in October 2015 that the delay was 'unacceptable' and was caused by human error and unfamiliarity with the Everbridge-based warning system. The case became one of the most-cited community-college examples of an emergency-notification failure in the Clery-Act era, and Los Rios ultimately overhauled its training, drills, and notification protocols across all four district colleges. Two suspects were later arrested and sentenced to life in prison for the killing.
Analysis

Key Findings

An independent review concluded that a 45-minute delay between the shooting and the first campus alert was 'unacceptable'
The review attributed the delay to human error and lack of familiarity with the Los Rios warning system, not technology failure
The case became a national reference point for community-college emergency-notification training failures
Los Rios overhauled training, drills, and notification protocols across its four-college district in response
Two suspects were later sentenced to life in prison for the killing of 25-year-old Roman P. Gonzalez
Outcome
25-year-old Roman P. Gonzalez died at the scene; a second victim was hospitalized in stable condition; a third had a minor wound. Two suspects were later arrested and ultimately sentenced to life in prison. The Los Rios Community College District commissioned an independent review by a retired FBI agent that called the alert delay 'unacceptable' and recommended overhaul of training and protocols.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    1 student dead, 2 injured in shooting at Sacramento City College (ABC7 News)
    abc7news.com
  2. News
    Sac City College Shooting Report: Unacceptable Delay In Alerting Staff, Students (CapRadio)
    capradio.org
  3. Official
    Updates on the Shooting at SCC (Sacramento City College official)
    scc.losrios.edu
  4. Student Paper
    Life sentences for two men charged in 2015 City College shooting; questions linger about alert system (The Express, Sacramento City College student newspaper)
    saccityexpress.com
  5. News
    3 People Shot, 1 Killed At Sac City Campus (CBS Sacramento)
    cbsnews.com
  6. News
    Sac City College Shooting Victim Identified, Search For Suspect Continues (CapRadio)
    capradio.org
Tags
shootingcommunity-collegecaliforniasacramentofatal-shootingalert-delaylos-rios-districteverbridgehuman-errornational-reference-case
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion