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UPDATE: Student Detained After Threat Against La Mesa Junior High School

La Mesa Junior High officials informed parents Monday of an alleged threat made against the school, marking the second such threat within the past month.

UPDATE: 8:45 p.m. — One male student has been detained on charges of criminal threats, according to Shirley Miller, spokesperson for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Currently, it is unclear if the student detained is responsible for the threat written on the restroom wall, as the investigation is ongoing, said Sheriff’s officials.

The detained student made verbal threats to “shoot up the school,” Miller said.

Original Story: Principal Michele Krantz sent an email to parents Monday afternoon to inform them of the situation.

“Late last week, we discovered a concerning statement written on the wall in one of our campus restrooms,” Krantz wrote in the email. “We contacted law enforcement at that time and have investigated the issue.”

As of Monday afternoon, officials did not have specific details to share other than the fact that

the threat was, “indirect and did not mention any specific person.” The threat, however, reportedly mentioned May 21, according to school administrators.

“We understand your desire as parents to know all the details when these types of situations occur,” Krantz wrote. “However, this is an open investigation and we are limited with what we can share so as not to compromise that investigation.”

The campus is still scheduled to be open on Tuesday, according to officials.

“While the threat does not appear to be credible, in an abundance of caution, the Sheriff’s Department will provide additional personnel on the campus tomorrow,” Krantz wrote.

La Mesa recently reported receiving a threat near the end of April, when officials reportedly found it written on a water tank at the back of the campus.

“The message was difficult to read, as it had been scribbled out,” said Krantz in an email sent to parents at the time of the previous incident. “We have contacted law enforcement and we are investigating the issue.”

Law enforcement increased their presence on campus after receiving the initial threat in April, but the campus remained open, according to La Mesa Junior High School officials.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies are expected to have an increased presence on campus once again on Tuesday as a precaution, according to Shirley Miller, spokesperson for the station.

“We take these threats very seriously,” Miller said. “This one does not seem to be too credible, but there are going to be increased patrols as a precaution.”

The student responsible for the threat could be charged with criminal threats, according to Sheriff’s officials.

Anyone with information regarding this matter is encouraged to contact the La Mesa administration or the local authorities. A text-a-tip hotline is also available at 661-524-5166.


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UPDATE: Student Detained After Threat Against La Mesa Junior High School

One comment

  1. Upon dropping my special needs student off, I saw 3 sheriff cars next to the school. At the closest public bus stop, next to the school, 2 news cameras on tripods were presesnt. Students frequent this corner in groups as they gather from public bus dropoff and rule-breaking parents who drop off students at bus stop red curb. The opposite side of the street, east past the school were 4 news vans. In the chaos, parents were doing u-turns unsafely in the middle of it all, after dropoffs. Many realize that sheriff was more concerned about potential school violence than traffic issues, thus creating a traffic violation melee.

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.