{
  "id": "2019-01-15-citrus-college-suicide-by-cop-threat",
  "slug": "citrus-college-suicide-by-cop-threat-2019-01-15",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Citrus College",
    "shortName": "Citrus",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "community-college",
    "alertSystemName": "Citrus Alert",
    "enrollment": 12000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2019-01-15",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Phoned threat to 'shoot up' campus prompts a six-hour lockdown; caller surrendered",
    "headlinePublic": "Phoned threat to 'shoot up' campus prompts a six-hour lockdown; caller surrendered",
    "summary": "On January 15, 2019, according to police, [Terrell Lee Bennett, a 30-year-old online Citrus College student](https://patch.com/california/glendora/citrus-college-lockdown-0) called Glendora police at approximately 11:20 AM PST and threatened to 'shoot up' the campus, prompting a six-hour lockdown at Citrus College and its neighbor [Azusa Pacific University](https://nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Citrus-College-on-Lockdown-504385091.html). Bennett surrendered peacefully at 3:42 PM PST and the lockdown was lifted at 5:58 PM PST. Police later said his calls appeared to be a [suicide-by-cop attempt](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/citrus-college-in-glendora-put-on-lockdown-after-phone-threat/).",
    "outcome": "Bennett surrendered without further incident at 3:42 PM PST and was charged with making criminal threats. The lockdown was lifted at 5:58 PM PST. Students were safely evacuated and released. APU also lifted its concurrent lockdown that evening.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Late morning on January 15, 2019, after Glendora PD received the 11:20 AM threat call",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Citrus Alert: on 1/15/18 an order has been issued to lock down Citrus College. If you are not on campus, stay away.  Go to the nearest room, turn off lights, lock door, and remain quiet. Remain locked down until an All Clear has been issued.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085259476091826176",
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim per NBC Los Angeles and Newsweek quoting Citrus College's Twitter posts at the start of the lockdown",
        "Issued after Glendora police received a phone call threatening to 'shoot up' Citrus College; police later arrested and charged Terrell Lee Bennett",
        "The instruction sequence directs recipients to stay away, locate a shelter room, lock down, and await an all-clear"
      ],
      "characterCount": 241,
      "confidence": "high",
      "timestamp": null
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": null,
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Citrus Alert: Citrus College remains on lockdown. This is not a drill. 11:54 am 1/15/18",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085264401551085568",
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expand same-day @CitrusCollege weather/alert chain"
      ],
      "characterCount": 87,
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": null,
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Citrus Alert: Citrus College is still on lockdown .  If you are not on campus, stay away.  12:10 pm 1/15/18",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085268090999328768",
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expand same-day @CitrusCollege weather/alert chain"
      ],
      "characterCount": 107,
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Mid-afternoon on January 15, 2019",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [],
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085288821195866112",
      "confidence": "high",
      "timestamp": null
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": null,
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Citrus Alert: Citrus College is still on lock down.  If you are not on campus, stay away from campus. 1/15/19 2:30 pm",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085302783023054848",
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expand same-day @CitrusCollege weather/alert chain"
      ],
      "characterCount": 117,
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 6,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": null,
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Citrus Alert: 1/15/19 6 pm Lockdown lifted. College closed. Evening classes are canceled. Check http://www.citruscollege.edu for updates about Wed. 1/16/19 operations.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085357186300010497",
      "sourceDescription": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text confirmed: CC Clarion (Citrus College's student newspaper) and The Chimes/SACMedia both quote this exact Citrus Alert tweet lifting the lockdown at approximately 6 PM PST on January 15, 2019.",
        "The t.co URL shortener link (https://t.co/SDsCLrYjko) is preserved as part of the verbatim text; it appeared in the original tweet and directed recipients to the college's emergency operations page.",
        "The date-stamp format '1/15/19 6 pm' embedded in the tweet body is an unusual convention, providing a permanent record of the lift time within the message itself.",
        "The two-hour gap between Bennett's surrender at 3:42 PM PST and the lockdown lift at 5:58 PM PST reflects the time required to sweep and clear all campus buildings."
      ],
      "characterCount": 167,
      "confidence": "high"
    }
  ],
  "context": "At approximately 11:20 AM PST on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, according to police, [Terrell Lee Bennett, a 30-year-old online Citrus College student from Chino](https://patch.com/california/glendora/citrus-college-lockdown-0), called the Glendora Police Department and threatened to 'shoot up' the Citrus College campus. Police said he called again around 3:40 PM PST. Citrus College and neighboring Azusa Pacific University both went on [hours-long lockdown](https://nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Citrus-College-on-Lockdown-504385091.html) while Glendora Police, the LA County Sheriff and APU public safety coordinated the response. Bennett surrendered peacefully at 3:42 PM PST. Police later told [CBS Los Angeles that his calls appeared to be a 'suicide-by-cop' attempt](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/citrus-college-in-glendora-put-on-lockdown-after-phone-threat/), a pattern in which suicidal individuals provoke armed police response in the hope of being killed. The lockdown was lifted at 5:58 PM PST. Bennett was charged with making criminal threats.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Police said Bennett, an online Citrus College student, was scheduled to attend an in-person class on the day of the threat",
    "Police characterized the calls as a suicide-by-cop attempt, a category of threat that traditional active-shooter protocols may not address",
    "Two campuses (Citrus and APU) locked down for nearly six hours over a single phoned-in threat, demonstrating regional cascade effects of threats in dense college areas"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Student Arrested After Phone Threat Prompts Lockdowns at Citrus College, Azusa Pacific University (KTLA)",
      "url": "https://ktla.com/news/local-news/citrus-college-in-glendora-azusa-pacific-university-placed-on-lockdown-amid-threat-investigation/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Threat Prompts Lockdowns at Citrus College, Azusa Pacific University (NBC Los Angeles)",
      "url": "https://nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Citrus-College-on-Lockdown-504385091.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Suspect In Citrus College Shooting Threat Arrested (Patch)",
      "url": "https://patch.com/california/glendora/citrus-college-lockdown-0",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Online Student Scheduled For In-Person Class Threatened To 'Shoot Up' Citrus College, Sought Suicide By Cop (CBS Los Angeles)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/citrus-college-in-glendora-put-on-lockdown-after-phone-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Citrus on lockdown after suspicious threat (CC Clarion)",
      "url": "https://www.ccclarion.com/2019/01/15/citrus-on-lockdown-after-suspicious-threat/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085259476091826176",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085288821195866112",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085357186300010497",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085264401551085568",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085268090999328768",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/CitrusCollege/status/1085302783023054848",
      "title": "@CitrusCollege on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "threat-of-violence",
    "lockdown",
    "california",
    "community-college",
    "citrus-college",
    "suicide-by-cop",
    "online-student",
    "azusa-pacific",
    "regional-cascade"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}