Most schools in San Francisco have a school resource officer.
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The closures came on a day when finals were scheduled at high schools, leading some students to speculate that a student fearing exams was involved, according to broadcast reports.
Across the country, the NY schools superintendent who received the threat was asleep and did not notice the email until 5:08 a.m. By 6:30 a.m., the message was sent to the NYPD.
The emailed threat, which authorities said was routed through Germany but likely originated locally, came almost two weeks after a married couple inspired by Islamic State killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a county office building 60 miles (100 km) away in San Bernardino.
The decision to shut down the schools was Superintendent Ramon Cortines’ call, who later described the apparent bomb scare as an ” electronic threat” that was “conveyed not to one school, but many schools in the district”. Parents and guardians were asked to pick up students from the schools at special designated areas. She says it’s just “the way the world is”. It has more than 650,000 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, with some 250,000 more in adult education programs.
“Our schools are safe. It was to students at schools”. “I will issue a statement late this afternoon after the (school police) chief, Chief (Steve) Zipperman has informed me that the schools have been searched, and it is OK”. By then, some facilities had opened, and some students and staff were already there, with others on the way.
To help, the Los Angeles public transit system offered students with valid IDs a free ride home through noon. “The district has crisis response plans in place”. Several members of the school board received the threat as well, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said.
The message also said the person boasted of having “32 accomplices… all ready to take action today”, Sherman said, however cautioning that some of the claims lacked credibility.
All schools in Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, had been shut down since Tuesday morning after a school board member received an “electronic threat” that mentioned the safety of schools in Los Angeles.
The news conference was held shortly after 7am local time, before the start of the school day for most children.
The person who wrote the note also claimed to be a jihadist but made errors that suggested the writer was really a prankster, including spelling the word “Allah” with a lowercase “a”.
School police said the FBI was notified of the LAUSD threat, which the federal agency analyzed. Authorities in NY reported receiving the same “generic” email and decided there was no danger to schoolchildren.
In Gardena, only LAUSD schools will be closed today.
Cortines stressed that the threat was broad, and had to be taken seriously.
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Mayor Eric Garcetti noted how the San Bernardino attack had changed the dynamic in Southern California.
