More Sacramento-area schools report threats, some linked by police to viral Snapchat post
More threatening posts circulating online and anonymous calls have prompted campuses across the Sacramento region to add security or take other precautions this week, though school and law enforcement officials have said many of the messages appear to be linked to an unsubstantiated threat that has gone viral nationwide.
River City High in West Sacramento reported around 9 a.m. Thursday that it was on “soft lockdown” following an anonymous call claiming there was a shooting threat to the campus, for the second time in as many days.
The soft lockdown means students remain in their first-period classrooms with movement on campus “prohibited” until police investigate and determine it is safe to lift the lockdown.
“This call is similar to the call received yesterday,” Washington Unified School District wrote in a Facebook post.
Police again determined the threat was unsubstantiated, and Thursday’s lockdown was lifted, district officials wrote in an update around 10:15 a.m.
River City students were sent home early Wednesday, with the school district and West Sacramento Police Department in a joint news release that evening saying the threat was “unsubstantiated at this time.” The district said additional social workers and outreach staff would be available Thursday at the River City campus.
Jesuit High School on Wednesday had an increased presence of sheriff’s deputies following messages on social media warning of violence at “JHS.”
Those messages appeared to be circulating across districts in several U.S. states. An arrest was made in Florida after an “unsubstantiated threat” to Jupiter High School, the School District of Palm Beach County wrote in a statement.
Marysville Joint Unified School District officials in a message to parents Thursday morning wrote that the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office would be increasing patrols near Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst as a precaution.
“We were made aware last night of a social media threat circulating the area with reference to ‘LHS’ which was construed to possibly concern Lindhurst High School; other jurisdictions with those initials for schools also received similar reporting,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post Thursday morning. “The threats were deemed not credible locally and apparently the messages were circulated nationwide and originated from an incident in Florida.”
In Placer County, Lincoln High School Principal Jen Hladun wrote in a letter to parents Wednesday evening that the school was made aware of two Snapchat posts threatening school violence Thursday morning.
Later Wednesday, the Lincoln Police Department in a statement also linked those posts to the Jupiter incident, writing that there were “no known threats to the safety of students nor staff” at the city’s two high schools, Lincoln High and Twelve Bridges.
Law enforcement agencies as of Thursday morning had not announced any local arrests in connection with the threatening posts.
Other incidents since start of school year
A number of threats of violence or similar incidents have been reported across the greater Sacramento area in previous weeks, some of them resulting in juvenile arrests.
Earlier this week, extra sheriff’s deputies were stationed outside Cosumnes Oaks High School and nearby Elizabeth Pinkerton Middle School in Elk Grove following another threatening post on Snapchat. That social media post, a copy of which was shared with The Sacramento Bee on Monday, appeared to protest COVID-19 mask and vaccine requirements.
John F. Kennedy High in Sacramento was locked down Wednesday as a precaution as police responded to a fight between a parent and a staff member.
On Oct. 18, Sutter County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 13-year-old linked to a social media post threatening a shooting at Live Oak Middle School.
Woodcreek High School in Roseville locked down in early October following a threat indicating that an “individual would be coming to Woodcreek to harm another student,” Principal Suanne Bell wrote.
Police in late September arrested two 14-year-old students at Yuba City High School, one of whom brought a handgun to the campus and another who was found with ammunition.
