Washington state middle school closed for third day over threats

By Victoria Cavaliere SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Washington state middle school remained closed for a third day on Friday due to threats contained in an anonymous letter targeting four staff members and referencing violence during lunch and at an assembly, officials said. The typewritten letter was found on Wednesday outside a teacher's classroom and prompted officials at Pacific Cascade Middle School in Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle, to cancel classes and call in law enforcement. By Friday, authorities said little headway had been made in uncovering who had left the letter, which also made reference to having access to guns. "Investigation of the threat letter discovered at PCMS continues with law enforcement," the Issaquah School District said in a statement. "The district is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the individual or individuals responsible for the threat." The note threatened violence on Friday against four specific staff members, but school officials did not describe the nature of the threats. The letter also made unspecified threats of violence at lunch or during the school's winter assembly on Friday, the district said. The King County Sheriff's Department, which is leading the investigation, declined to give further details about the letter. School officials said classes were canceled as a precautionary measure again on Friday, the last day before its 800 students in grades six through eight start their holiday break. The closure comes less than two months after a student gunman in Marysville, Washington, shot five friends and family members in his high school cafeteria, killing four, before taking his own life. Last month, a high school in the affluent coastal community of Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles was closed for two days after a threatening post made on social media application Yik Yak. A decision on whether the Washington state middle school will reopen Jan. 5, and how to make up the lost days, will be made soon, the district said in a statement. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Alan Crosby)