A judge has granted a five-year extension for the gun violence restraining order against Marcos Ramos, the City of San Fernando resident arrested last month for allegedly making a threat to commit a mass shooting at an elementary school.
On Monday, Oct. 10, a public hearing was held at Van Nuys Courthouse East to determine if Ramos, 29, should have the temporary gun violence restraining order filed against him — which prevents him owning any firearms or ammunition — extended up to five years.
The judge granted the extension, which lasts until October 2027. Ramos was not present at the hearing, instead being represented by an attorney.
The San Fernando Police Department (SFPD) seized four firearms, two rifles and two handguns, when Ramos was arrested at his home on Sept. 12. With the restraining order extension, Ramos must turn in any other firearms he owns.
Ramos was arrested after allegedly sending a threat to a San Diego insurance company, through a survey, that he would commit a mass shooting at an elementary school if $1 billion was not transferred to his account. However, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file charges due to insufficient evidence. Ramos was released from custody on Sept. 16.
SFPD filed a temporary gun restraining order against Ramos, which a judge granted on Sept. 19. It originally lasted up to 21 days.
Ramos is a former employee at Lorne Street Elementary School in Northridge. An SFPD detective informed the school’s administrative staff on Sept. 13, about Ramos’ arrest and of his threat, who then informed the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school was placed on “modified lockdown” on Sept. 15, and a message was sent to parents that a threat was made by a “community member.”
To date, neither the school nor the district has officially sent a message stating that the community member was a former employee or what the threat said.
Parents who know about Ramos and the threat only heard about them through other sources, such as the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol newspaper, word-of-mouth or PTA meetings. At one meeting held on Sept. 19, parents created a list of questions directed at the district, including why they weren’t informing them about Ramos.
At another meeting on Sept. 28, district officials and school Principal Lisa Elan talked to parents about the situation. They explained that, during the week of Ramos’ arrest, they were still collecting information and that they didn’t want to put the community on high alert, since he was still in custody at the time.
However, parents fired back that, weeks after the incident, neither the school nor LAUSD were telling them what was going on. They were concerned for their children’s safety, some admitting that they hadn’t been bringing their children to school after hearing the news.
The meeting ended with Elan abruptly leaving and many parents feeling frustrated. A few parents are even talking about finding a way to remove Elan as principal after her behavior at the meeting, which some called “rude” and “disrespectful.”