All schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District have been ordered closed on Tuesday due to a threat.
A bomb threat was allegedly sent “electronically,” but authorities have not yet made clear to whom the threat was addressed. The threat is described as a “rare threat,” but schools were closed out of an abundance of caution.
School Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines spoke to reporters to explain the closure.
“This morning, at just after 5 am, I received a phone message from [LA School Police] Chief Zipperman… and he shared with me the threat that had been made to not just one school, but many schools in this district — he shared with me that some of the details talked about backpacks, talked about other packages. After… talking with him, also with the board president, I made a decision to close all of the schools.”
The police chief stated that the FBI has been notified of threat to school and that the threat still being analyzed.
Students and teachers were told to stay away from all the schools and campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
School district spokeswoman Ellen Morgan announced the closure Tuesday but released no further details ahead of a press conference at district headquarters.
LAUSD schools are closed today due to credible threat. Updates will be provided via https://t.co/AZDfmuaMmu & 213-241-2064.
— Los Angeles Unified (@LASchools) December 15, 2015
Authorities said they plan a search operation of all LAUSD schools after the “unspecified threat was received.” However, that will be a monumental task due to the immense size of the school district.
The district is the second largest in the nation, spanning 720 square miles including Los Angeles and all or part of more than 30 smaller cities. The LAUSD has over 900 schools and 187 public charter schools with 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The move comes less than two weeks after two shooters killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.
[NYT]