A 15-year-old boy allegedly circulated threats via social media aimed at two Menifee high school campuses, but the threats were ultimately determined to be unfounded, authorities said Tuesday.
According to the Menifee Police Department, around noon Monday, administrators at both Heritage High School and Paloma Valley High School called 911 after learning of “multiple photos circulating … depicting threats of violence” at the locations.
The social media pages where the images were published were not identified, and it was unclear whether there were specific messages associated with the postings.
Patrol officers were sent to both campuses and confirmed that the same photos were used in the threats, Menifee police Lt. Denise Keith said.
She said staff at both campuses collaborated with police to confirm the threats were “not credible.”
“Within a couple hours, officers located the person they believed was responsible for posting the threats as a 15-year-old male, who was a former student of both high schools,” the lieutenant said.
The youth, whose identity was not disclosed, was not immediately arrested, Keith said, noting that the “investigation is ongoing.”
“Although law enforcement has seen an increase in these types of posts around the region, MPD wants the public to know all threats, whether specific, implied, or otherwise, that cause fear in our community will not be tolerated,” she said.