By Terry Miller
All Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses were closed Tuesday morning, Dec. 15 “until further notice,” after LAUSD received a “credible terror threat,” according to school district officials.
Mercy Santoro, associate superintendent at Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) assured the public there were no threats to our immediate area schools:
“There are no known threats to the PUSD. It is safe to send your children to school today [Dec. 14]. PUSD is in contact with the Pasadena Police Department and local law enforcement, who are monitoring the situation in LAUSD. We are undoubtedly concerned about this situation in LAUSD. The safety of our students and staff is always a top priority.”
The threat to LAUSD sent via email to a school board member Monday evening (Dec. 13) is from an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany.
The “messaged” threat mentioned backpacks and other packages, Superintendent Ramon Cortines said at a morning news conference. He described the nature of the threat as “unspecified.”
Cortines ordered all schools be thoroughly searched to ensure the grounds were “safe for children.”
Other districts in Southern California reported receiving no threats to their schools and were operating their campuses normally this past Tuesday. However there were similar threats to schools in New York.
Cortines felt it was important to take the precaution “based on what has happened recently, and what has happened in the past,” he said, alluding to the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, which was being investigated by the FBI as an “act of terrorism.”
The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were assisting school police in search operations of all campuses.
LAUSD is the second largest school district in the country, serving more than 640,000 students between kindergarten and 12th grade.
The New York threats were deemed not credible: “These threats are made to promote fear…we cannot allow us to raise the levels of fear,” New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton tweeted.
He added that the agency was working closely with the FBI and the LAPD.
For information call (213) 241-2064.
