Officials said the threat came in electronic form and was made to numerous but unspecified campuses.
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A preliminary investigation suggested the threat – and the one sent to New York City schools – was a hoax, according to a statement from Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Authorities in NY reported receiving the same “generic” email and decided there was no danger to schoolchildren. “At the same time, in an environment in which it is very easy to transmit threats, real and otherwise, and when fear and disruption may be the goal as well as the effect, communities and law enforcement will need to make a hard judgment as to how to respond in a variety of circumstances”.
“It was so outlandish”, he said.
New York Police Department (NYPD) Police Commissioner William Bratton cited this error as a reason the threat was not credible.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is looking into a threat made against schools, similar to those made earlier this week in Los Angeles and New York City, according to a district spokesperson. “They want to disrupt the normal routine”, New York Police Chief Bill Bratton said.
“The back-and-forth between NY and Los Angeles”.
Bratton called the closure in Los Angeles a “significant overreaction”.
Doubts had been cast over the email’s authenticity because of how the author, who claimed to be a devout Muslim, consistently failed to capitalise the word “Allah”. But the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said Wednesday that number might actually be closer to $50 million, citing two California law penalties: loss of average daily attendance and loss of instructional minutes.
Sherman said the sender’s address ended in “li” – which he said appears to represent the country of Liechtenstein, which is bordered by Switzerland to the west and Austria to the east. However, it was not known whether the author of the email had any connection to that country.
The decision to close the district disputed the morning routines of many Los Angeles families.
The move comes less than two weeks after two shooters killed 14 people in San Bernardino in what was the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11.
“As we were kids growing up – I’m 51 – we always had the notion that it was a childish prank”, said Hwang, a Republican.
“I’m not going to take the chance with the life of a student”, said Cortines, who runs the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
The city schools commonly get threats, but Cortines called this one rare. “But it was threatening violence against schools”, Spencer said.
Most schools have entrances that are watched by either volunteers or unarmed security aides, and visitors must sign in. “That’s the reason I took the action that I did”.
The threat may have been sent through an anonymous proxy, which makes the email look like it’s coming from another location, Downing said.
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The emails, copies of both of which were obtained by ABC News, each begin by addressing “To Whom It May Concern” and say, “I am emailing you to inform you of the happenings on Tuesday, 12/15/15”.
