Washington state middle school closed after letter threatens violence

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Washington state middle close was closed for a second day on Thursday as police investigated a letter left in a hallway that threatened violence against four staff members, school officials said. The anonymous writer of the typed letter, which was found outside a teacher's classroom in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah on Wednesday, made reference to having access to guns, the Issaquah School District said in a statement. The note threatened violence on Friday against four specific staff members at Pacific Cascade Middle School, which is attended by about 800 students in the grades six through eight, the district said. "The note also contains unspecified threats to do violence at lunch or during the school's winter assembly on Friday," the statement said. The details of the threats against the staff members were not released. After the note was found, school officials canceled the remainder of the school day on Wednesday and kept the building shuttered again on Thursday as a precaution. The King County Sheriff's Department said detectives were leading the investigation but gave no details. "We are working with the school" said Sergeant DB Gates, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department. "They are making the decision on a day-to-day basis whether they want to open." The district said it had not decided whether the school would be closed again Friday - the day the note had threatened violence. The district said on its website it will consider whether to make up the lost school days once the investigation is complete. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)