CARLSBAD — A 15-year-old female Carlsbad High School student was arrested at her home on Tuesday for making criminal threats against the school.
On Monday the high school was placed on lockdown and closed the following day after an anonymous threat of a shooting was posted on social media picture sharing app Instagram.
Carlsbad Village Academy was also closed Tuesday in an “abundance of caution,” Superintendent Suzette Lovely said on the school’s website.
Carlsbad Police investigators, with the help of San Diego County law enforcement and the FBI, were able to track the posting to its point of origin.
Investigators found no evidence that the female student had the means or intent to follow through with the threat, according to police officials.
According to Carlsbad School District Assistant Superintendent Rick Grove, a student saw the posting Monday morning and alerted parents.
“We received a call (Monday) morning from a parent who shared with us that a student had shared with her that a student had posted on Instagram regarding a threat to Carlsbad High School so we initiated a lockdown procedure and consulted with Carlsbad Police Department,” Grove said.
The Instagram photo showed a screen shot of text that read “I am going to shoot up Carlsbad high school today at 11:30 or tomorrow at 10:20 if all else fails. See you soon!”
Police started their investigation with students on lockdown and consulted with district officials.
After declaring campus safe, they decided to release students at 11:15 a.m.
“It’s been a bit unnerving for our first day back,” Grove said.
“Unfortunately, there have been a number of these incidents around the country lately but you can never blow it off,” Grove said. “You’ve got to take it seriously and do your due diligence to protect students.”
“We understand how distressing such incidents can be for everyone involved,” said Carlsbad Police Investigations Lt. Pete Pascual. “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.”
The story has been updated since its original posting.
