Police, FBI investigate online threats at SLO County school. ‘Watch out ... he aint playing’
Multiple threats of violence caused concern among members of the Arroyo Grande High School community on Monday, but were deemed not to be credible after investigations by the local police and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The threats were circulated on social media on Monday, according to an email from Lucia Mar Unified School District Superintendent Paul Fawcett.
According to Fawcett, the first round of threats consisted of “some messages and images circulating on social media which were concerning.”
The district contacted local law enforcement immediately, which found the threats were not credible because they did not originate from the district and were not directed at any Lucia Mar schools.
Then again on Monday, the district was alerted to another potential threat.
“This second potential threat involved an image circulating on social media of a district student holding a gun with the message ‘Watch out AGHS he aint playing,’ ” Fawcett wrote in the email.
According to Fawcett, the student’s parents informed the district that the student did not personally post the photo on social media, did not write the message attached to the photo and that the photo itself was taken more than a year ago and not taken for the purpose of threatening anyone.
Therefore, the district determined there was no credible threat associated with the second image shared online, Fawcett wrote.
“I want to assure parents that Arroyo Grande High School and the district took these incidents very seriously and has and will take all appropriate steps to ensure a safe school environment for all our students,” Fawcett wrote. “The safety of our students and staff remains our top priority.”
No further details about the potential threats were released.
