Sheriff: Mendocino College student arrested after posting photo of a gun, triggering lockdown

Mendocino College in Ukiah was put on lockdown for several hours Wednesday after a student made an ominous social media post that included a picture of a semi-automatic pistol and reference to the school, officials said Friday.

The student was found nearly five hours later at a residence 7 miles from campus and determined “not to be an active threat,” Mendocino County Sheriff Capt. Greg Van Patten said. The student, Lyle Vincent, 31, was arrested on an unrelated matter for violating a domestic violence restraining order, sheriff’s officials said.

The investigation began about 4 p.m. when school administrators contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report Vincent had posted a photo of the gun on Facebook with the status “feeling sad” and tagged himself as being at the Mendocino College campus on Hensley Creek Road north of Ukiah city limits, Van Patten said.

Deputies found Vincent’s unlocked pickup at a parking lot near campus. The keys were in the ignition and the windows were partially rolled down but Vincent was not there. School officials said he had no classes on campus that day, Van Patten said. The college was evacuated and an automated 911 call was sent to all within a half-mile radius of the school while deputies conducted a systematic search, concluding about 8 p.m.

About 8:40 p.m., deputies learned Vincent was at a residence on Vineyard Oaks Drive in the Redwood Valley and arrested him there, Van Patten said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @jjpressdem.