A total of six William S. Hart Union High School District students were connected to a possible threat within the district, resulting in their detainment by deputies, according to a statement issued by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s station Thursday.
Hart District officials released a statement saying they had become aware of the threat, and “immediately contacted the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, who went to work and identified all the parties involved.”
“There is currently no threat to our students, staff or schools,” the release stated.
Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, confirmed that six students had been detained.
“On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Santa Clarita Sheriff’s COBRA detectives, assisted by deputies, detained several local high school students after learning about social media threats regarding committing acts of violence,” said a statement released by the station. “A William S. Hart Union High School District staff member discovered the threats and alerted the authorities, who quickly investigated and detained six juveniles.”
The news release from law enforcement said they take threats of violence seriously, and that the suspects were detained on felony criminal threat charges and transported to the Sylmar Juvenile Hall, where they were still housed as of Thursday.
“Our detectives and school resource officers are spending a lot of manpower researching, identifying and interviewing the subjects, because how do we know that we are not dealing with the next active shooter?” said Sgt. Brian Shreves, who oversees the station’s COBRA unit, which primarily deals with investigating juvenile-related crimes. “We don’t know, so when kids make thoughtless comments to one another, either verbally or through text messages, we take it very seriously.”
The Hart District took the incident as a chance to remind people to thank those who saw something, and said something.
“It is yet another reminder as a community and as parents we have to be vigilant and talk with our students,” said the district release. “If you or your student knows of a situation that could bring harm to a student, school or community, please find (the text-a-tip) number on your school’s home page.”
The name of the school within the Hart District the suspects attended was not disclosed as of the publication of this article.
