Social media threat leads to closure of middle school

Here is a news release from Menifee Police Department about the threat that led to the closure today of Hans Christensen Middle School. The threat was determined to be non-credible and school will be in session on Friday:

At approximately 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, Menifee Police Department Officers received a call for service regarding a social media threat at Hans Christensen Middle School. Information in the call indicated the threat named several students and staff.

Responding officers arrived on scene and contacted school administration. Officers were able to view a screenshot of the social media post due to the account being deleted by an unknown person prior to officers’ arrival. Detectives responded and took over the investigation.

Throughout the course of the investigation, detectives interviewed several students and began to forensically examine numerous digital devices. Detectives discovered the social media account used to post the threat had just been created. Detectives were able to narrow down who may have either posted the threat or knew who posted the threat.

Detectives responded to the homes of several students and contacted their parents, who fully cooperated with the investigation. Through those conversations, it was learned that [neither] the children nor the parents have access to any firearms or other dangerous weapons. Detectives are still examining several digital devices to determine if any of them were used to create the social media threat.

At this point in the investigation, detectives have deemed the threat to be non-credible, but continue to work hard to positively identify the person responsible for creating the post. Once this occurs, criminal charges are likely. In addition, the students will likely face administrative action(s) by the school.

Although law enforcement has seen an increase in these types of posts around the region, MPD wants the public to know that all threats, whether specific, implied, or otherwise, that cause fear in our community will not be tolerated. MPD is committed to using all available resources to ensure we hold the person(s) responsible for such threats accountable for their actions. These posts are disruptive to our school sites and require many hours of law enforcement investigation. In this case, well over 24 hours for several officers/detectives.

MPD will continue to collaborate with our schools to ensure they remain a safe environment for students and staff.

If anyone has any information regarding this social media threat, please contact Detective Amber Marcinko at 951-723-1610 or amarcinko@menifeepolice.org.