A 15-year-old girl was in custody Wednesday for making a threat via social media against Carlsbad High School, leading to classes being released early one day and canceled completely the next.
The girl, a student at the school, was arrested at her home late Tuesday on suspicion of making a criminal threat, according to Carlsbad police, who said she was identified through a joint effort by the FBI, the school district and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
"We understand how distressing such incidents can be for everyone involved," Carlsbad police Lt. Pete Pascual said. "The safety of our children is our top priority. We are grateful for the assistance of the many outside resources that helped us to the expedited resolution of this incident."
Police said they found no indication that the girl had either the means or the intent to follow through with the threat, the nature of which was not disclosed.
On Monday, police received a report of a threatening message posted on Instagram. Around 10 a.m., teachers were directed to secure all students in their classrooms at the Monroe Street campus, district officials said.
Students were kept locked inside for a little over an hour as officers performed a sweep of the grounds and buildings, finding nothing hazardous. At 11:15 a.m., campus administrators released all students for the day as police continued to investigate.
Early Monday evening, Carlsbad Unified School District Superintendent Suzette Lovely announced that Carlsbad High and Carlsbad Village Academy would be closed Tuesday as an "added safety measure" and "in an abundance of caution." It was unclear why the second school was included in the precautionary action.
Carlsbad Village Academy is the district's continuation high school.
All other Carlsbad Unified School District schools were open and operated as usual.
On Wednesday Central Union High School in El Centro was closed after a threat was made on the social media site Yik Yak, according to the Imperial Valley Press.
In November, a threat posted on Yik Yak caused a several-hour lockdown at Torrey Pines High School.
