An unfounded shooting threat at San Marcos High School prompted heightened security measures on campus Sept. 14 and resulted in a student being arrested for the hoax, authorities reported.
The threat involving the North County secondary school was reported about 10 p.m. Sept. 13, according to sheriff’s officials.
Investigators determined that a ninth-grader enrolled at the West San Marcos Boulevard campus had conspired with a second youth — a non-student — to post the menacing statements on social media “in an attempt to create fear at the school,” Detective Jason Rouse said.
“The student was taken into custody and the threat was determined to be a hoax,” Rouse said. “There are no ongoing threats to the campus at this time, and the school day was not interrupted during the incident.”
The arrestee’s name was withheld, which is standard in criminal cases involving underage suspects.
It was not immediately clear if the second alleged perpetrator had been identified or would be arrested.
In a separate case Sept. 14, authorities investigated what was initially believed to be a threat of violence targeting West Hills High School in Santee.
Officials wound up determining, however, that the threat involved Western Hills High School in Frankfort, Kentucky, acccording to San Diego County sheriff’s Sgt. Phil Beaumont.
Nonetheless, deputies were assigned to conduct extra patrols at the Santee campus throughout the day “out of an abundance of caution,” Beaumont said.
— City News Service
