High drama when a mountain lion decided to take a stroll across John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News at 5 and 6 p.m. on April 15, 2016.
The cat's in the bag.
Wildlife officials and police officers tranquilized a mountain lion seen roaming a Southern California high school campus Friday morning. They had fanned out across the neighborhood to capture the cat, which leaped onto walls, hid in bushes and, after being hit by a tranquilizer dart, fell asleep in a flower bed.
The big cat was spotted at John F. Kennedy High School (map) in Los Angeles’ Granada Hills, an affluent community in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains, leading to a lockdown of the campus.
Aerial video showed the mountain lion spring from behind bushes after it appeared to be struck with a tranquilizer dart. The cat trotted alongside the school building before leaping over a wall.
Minutes later, the mountain lion was spotted in the front yard of a home, where it fell asleep. Officials moved in and loaded the big cat into the bed of a pickup truck.
In a message to parents, the school's assistant principal said children and staff were safe.
U.S. & World
The lockdown at Kennedy High – home of the Golden Cougars – was lifted when the animal was captured. Wildlife officials said the mountain lion would immediately be returned to the wild.
