Castaic Elementary adds security personnel following campus threat

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A threat from a spouse of a Castaic Elementary School teacher prompted the Castaic Union School District to add extra security personnel on the elementary school’s campus this week.

The threat was made to the employee over the weekend when the employee’s spouse left her a voice message threatening to harm both her and others at Castaic Elementary School.

“We received a threat over the weekend and it was a related to a domestic disturbance and that threat included possibly causing harm to the school,” Superintendent Steve Doyle said.  “When it came into me early Monday morning, I had been told the person who made the threat was in custody, but I wasn’t sure how long he would remain in custody.”

As Doyle and district staff continued to work with law enforcement on the active criminal investigation, the district hired a private security firm on Monday to monitor the campus and increase security throughout the week.

“We issued a private security firm sometimes like we do during the weekend just to make sure we had extra eyes at the school,” Doyle said.

On Tuesday, the district sent an email to the Castaic Elementary School community informing them of the incident and alerting them of the extra security on campus.  The email did not name the couple involved due to the district’s legal obligations, but noted that the district is working on filing a temporary restraining order against the perpetrator.

“We released a statement to the parents (Tuesday),” Doyle said.  “We’re trying to balance the protection of the employees going through a traumatic situation.”

The Castaic Elementary School employee has also taken paid time off to address the situation and to keep the campus “free from distraction,” according to the email.

The additional security personnel are expected to remain on the elementary school campus for an undetermined time, according to Doyle.

“The perpetrator is still in custody,” Doyle said. “We’re working hand-in-hand with law enforcement, but out of an abundance of caution we’re keeping the security on campus.”

This perpetrator has not yet made bail and had a hearing in court today that was then extended to next month, according to Doyle.

Outside of this incident, the Castaic district has ramped up security measures to keep its campuses safe.

Since the beginning of the school year the district has completed active shooter training with its staff and have been practicing lock down drills on campus.

“Even prior to this threat we’re working with the Los Angeles Sheriff to do unannounced drills on campus,” Doyle said.  “We maintain closed campuses so all of our exterior gates and offices are locked…. and Castaic Elementary School has a buzz in front of its entrance.”

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