Santa Barbara deputies investigate threatening chat-room posts involving students

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into several San Marcos High School students who allegedly posted threatening and derogatory comments directed at female students on a private internet chat room.

Deputies have executed three search warrants related to the investigation, seizing several items for examination, the Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

“The investigation revealed a group of male students listed a group of high school female students and posted derogatory and vulgar descriptions about the women. There was also a threatening video created by a male student with what appeared to be an antique musket,” a news release said.

The posts were brought to the attention of San Marcos staff Jan. 19, following a minimum day of school. School administrators immediately reported the case to the Sheriff’s Office, which then began an investigation. The sheriff’s office did not provide any further information about the posts or the specifics on the chat room allegedly used.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, detectives determined that none of the involved students is in possession of nor do they have access to functioning firearms or dangerous devices and that there is no immediate threat “to anyone at school or in the community.”

The Santa Barbara Unified School District identified the students on Jan. 22, and an unknown action was taken.

Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Cary Matsuoka, in a statement, apologized “for not communicating proactively” with parents about the threats and announced that the district would hold a special forum Monday to “provide a summary of the events as they unfolded starting on Jan. 19 and have a conversation about school safety and communication.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Santa Barbara deputies investigate threatening chat-room posts involving students."