Local education and law enforcement officials plan Friday to announce strategies to address a recent spate of nearly two dozen threats of campus violence in the San Diego area.
Though none of the juvenile perpetrators are believed to have intended to actually carry out school shootings or other types of attacks, the rash of malicious rumor-mongering has left at least nine local youths facing criminal prosecution.
Outlining the planned response to the disruptive trend will be San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit, District Attorney Summer Stephan, San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten and SDUSD Police Chief Mike Marquez.
During Friday morning’s briefing, the officials “will discuss the increased number of school threats since Feb. 14, the consequences of false threats and the importance of communication among law enforcement agencies, schools, students, parents and the community,” according to a statement from the school district.
The most recent arrest took place Wednesday and stemmed from a message that a Serra High School freshman allegedly scrawled on a restroom wall at the Tierrasanta campus. The malicious graffiti alluded to a school shooting supposedly planned for next month.
Police said the threat — like the others in the series — appeared to be empty fear-mongering but nonetheless qualified as a criminal threat.
At least 20 apparently baseless threats have been made against San Diego-area schools since the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, according to local police and prosecutors.