Los Angeles schools cancel classes due to threat

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/15/us/los-angeles-schools-closed-threat/index.html

(CNN)Classes were canceled Tuesday for the Los Angeles Unified School District after what the district's superintendent called a "rare" threat that comes amid new concerns about security nationwide.

An "electronic threat" received early Tuesday prompted the decision, school district police Chief Steve Zipperman said, adding that the threat "is still being analyzed."

District superintendent Ramon Cortines explained the "message" referred to backpacks and "other packages." He said many schools were threatened, though none by name. The threat was toward students in schools (as opposed to on buses).

Cortines noted his school district often receives threats. While he didn't go into detail, he said recent events -- like this month's massacre in nearby San Bernardino, California; the Paris terror attacks; and heightened concerns about potential terrorism across the United States -- factored into the cancellation.

"The circumstances in the neighboring San Bernardino, I think what has happened in the nation, I think what happened internationally" played into the decision, Cortines said. "I, as superintendent, am not going to take the chance with the life of students."

The superintendent said he's asked authorities to search all of the roughly 900 charter and K-12 schools in his district "before the day is over." He promised a statement Tuesday afternoon that could offer more information about what prompted his decision and lay out what will happen next, including whether classes will be in session Wednesday.

That won't happen, Cortines insisted, "until I know it's safe."

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I was impressed with how calmly this was dealt with here. Even if the threat turns out to be unfounded, it was reassuring to see that action was swift. Great job.

[Darnell 8,479]

do the bus drivers get paid for the day off?

and shouldn't the bus drivers be checking the backpacks prior to allowing the students on the bus?

[smilesammich 10,727]

i don't know about ca, but in va there's a safety checklist for bus drivers to carry out before they leave each day. one of the tasks is checking the undercarriage for 'foreign objects'.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

I bet it was the local anti govt homegrown crowd

[Darnell 8,479]

well, they traced the ip address of the sender of the email, put him/her somewhere in Germany.

Are there radicalized Muslims living in Germany?