Threat to school deemed not credible; students questioned

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Menifee Police Department detectives determined that a threat of planned violence at Ethan A. Chase Middle School today was not viable, and four students were identified as connected with the incident, authorities said.

MPD received a call at 7 p.m. Monday from a Romoland School District employee regarding threats posted to social media, according to a MPD news release. Officers and detectives received search warrants for the social media account used to disseminate the threats. From there, detectives were able to identify four students and their home addresses.

All four students and their parents were cooperative with the investigation. One student took full responsibility for the threat, which was determined not viable or credible.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the social media account used to post the threat. Their findings will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s office for review.

Parents were initially notified of the threat by email at 6 a.m. In a follow-up email from the district, parents were urged to have an open and honest discussion with their children about the dangers of making threats to others. The MPD news release stated that even if a threat is determined not to be credible, there still is a likelihood of criminal charges being sought.