Police: Schoolchildren Never Put At Risk During Lakeland Village Shooting

Concern over whether schoolchildren were ever put at risk during police activity last week that escalated into the Village man by a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy is unwarranted, according to Sgt. Joe Borja, spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

“There is no way,” Borja said. “I personally looked at that site the day before the incident and it’s nowhere near a school.”

On March 25 at approximately 7 a.m., as officers from the sheriff’s Southwest Corridor Narcotics Task Force attempted to serve a narcotics search warrant to 32921 Rome Hill Road in Lakeland Village, a

The 58-year-old man, who neighbors identify as Fred L. Smith, was pronounced dead at 7:39 a.m. that morning. No other suspects were sought in the case and no law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.

The mobile home where the shooting took place is located one street across from Lakeland Village School – the drive time is 39 seconds, or .21 miles.

When pushed about the school’s proximity to the incident scene, Borja said, “I guarantee you, from that residence you couldn’t hit the school with a shotgun bullet. And at 7 a.m., kids aren’t there.”

The morning of the incident, the school bell rang at 7:50 a.m. School officials were alerted that police activity was occurring, but were assured there was no risk to children or staff, according to Lake Elsinore Unified School District Coordinator of Community and Media Relations Mark Dennis. The school was never put on lockdown.

“LEUSD regularly cooperates with police on a variety of security issues, both on campus and in the surrounding community,” Dennis explained. “LEUSD has established district emergency policies and guidelines that are followed for the safety of our campuses.”

He added, “Law enforcement conduct outside our campuses is not governed by school policy.”

While no parents interviewed for this article questioned the school district’s protocol, some did wonder about police policy.

On the afternoon of the shooting, Jennifer Price, a mother of two Lakeland Village School students, was at the campus to pick up her children.

"I dropped my kids off at 7:30 this morning. It's crazy. They (police) should have waited to do this,” she said. “I know they have to do their job, but they should put the kids first."

Borja said there is no sheriff’s department policy regarding the timing of search warrant service near schools, but he explained that there are protocols to ensure public safety.

“We do have what’s called an Operations Plan that requires us to take into consideration many factors, including whether a site is near a school, whether kids will be present, and so forth,” he said. “There was no danger to school kids that morning.”

The deputy involved in the shooting is a 10-year veteran of the department. Per Riverside County Sheriff's Department policy, the deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting. Borja said the investigation will take several months to complete.