LAUSD Closes All Schools Amid ‘Credible Threat’ of Violence to ‘Many Schools’: Officials

LAUSD Closes All Schools Amid ‘Credible Threat’ of Violence to ‘Many Schools’: Officials
Posted 6:51 AM, December 15, 2015, by Tracy Bloom and Eric Spillman, Updated at 10:02am, December 15, 2015

All Los Angeles Unified School District campuses were closed Tuesday morning until further notice after LAUSD received a “credible threat,” according to school district officials.
LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines addressed the media after all district schools were closed on Dec. 15, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines addressed the media after all district schools were closed on Dec. 15, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

The threat was sent via email to a school board member Monday evening and was traced back to an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany, according to spokeswoman Ellen Morgan.

The “messaged” threat mentioned backpacks and other packages, Superintendent Ramon Cortines said at a morning news conference. He described the nature of the threat as “unspecified.”

Earlier, another LAPD official described it to KTLA as a “terror threat.”

Cortines characterized the threat as “rare,” and said it was directed to “students at schools.”

He added it was made to “many schools,” but did not identify any by name.

Cortines stated he made the decision to close all campuses after consulting with Los Angeles School Police Department Chief Steven Zipperman and School Board President Steve Zimmer.
Los Angeles Police Department patrol cars and SWAT vehicles were staged outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum following an unspecified threat to several LAUSD schools on Dec. 15, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

Los Angeles Police Department patrol cars and SWAT vehicles were staged outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum following an unspecified threat to several LAUSD schools on Dec. 15, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

He ordered all schools be thoroughly searched to ensure the grounds were “safe for children.”

“I’ve asked the plant managers to walk the school, and if they see anything that is out of order to contact the police,” the superintendent said.

Bus service has also been canceled for the day. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority tweeted that all LAUSD students with a valid student ID could ride Metro buses and trains for free until noon.

Other districts in Southern California reported receiving no threats to their schools, and were operating their campuses normally on Tuesday.

Cortines felt it was important to take the precaution “based on what has happened recently, and what has happened in the past,” he said, alluding to the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, which was being investigated by the FBI as an “act of terrorism.”

The Dec. 2 attack at the Inland Regional Center left 14 people dead and 21 others injured.
Parents and students are seen outside of a school after LAUSD campuses were closed amid a threat Tuesday. (Credit: KTLA)

Parents and students are seen outside of a school after LAUSD campuses were closed amid a threat Tuesday. (Credit: KTLA)

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were assisting school police in search operations of all campuses.

The threat to LAUSD schools was still being analyzed, according to Zipperman. The FBI has been notified.

“ We have chosen to close our schools today until we can be sure our campuses are safe,” he said during the news conference.

Parents and guardians were urged to keep their kids home from school on Tuesday. Anyone who has already dropped their child off was asked to pick them up.

Proper ID would be required and checked upon picking students up.

LAUSD is the second largest school district in the country, serving more than 640,000 students between kindergarten and 12th grade, according to its website. There are more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools in the district.

After a brief outage, an information hotline was working again for parents with questions: 213-241-2064.

Officials were scheduled to hold another news conference with an update on the situation at 11 a.m.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

KTLA’s Alberto Mendez and Irving Last contributed to this story.

http://ktla.com/2015/12/15/lausd-has-received-credible-terror-threat-district-official-says/