The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station investigated threats by a College of the Canyons student that ultimately were deemed not credible, according to a station official.
But the incident was a reminder about the need to be careful in communications and how seriously law enforcement officers take such threats, said Deputy Robert Jensen, an SCV Sheriff’s Station spokesman.
“If you think you’re messaging someone privately on Snapchat, you’re not,” Jensen said, mentioning one of the many SMS, or short message service, platforms popular among students.
What Jensen was referring to was the capability of monitoring software that anonymously scrapes practically all platform messaging and chats and automatically notifies the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI then conducts a quick assessment of that threat and, when deemed necessary, forwards that information to a more local agency like the SCV Sheriff’s Station, Jensen said.
It’s help that the station is extremely grateful for, he said, because due to the area’s past, which includes a tragic, fatal school shooting five years ago, the SCV takes such talk extremely seriously.
That’s what happened Monday, he said in an email, when FBI officials contacted the local station over a message sent, which the college said was traced to a student utilizing the Aliso Lab.
“After receiving a tip about a private message posted on a social media app, SCV sheriff’s deputies visited the Valencia campus (Monday) afternoon to speak with the student who posted the message,” according to an email obtained by The Signal that was sent to COC students Monday afternoon.
Jensen said COC officials were extremely cooperative in helping in their investigation. No arrest was made as a result of the incident.
“Deputies coordinated with Campus Safety and went to the classroom in Aliso Lab together. Deputies escorted the student from the classroom and spoke with the student outside,” the COC email continued. “Following the conversation, deputies took the student into custody and searched the students’ personal belongings.”
Ultimately, deputies determined that there was no credible threat based on their search and interview with the suspect.
“Dean David Vakil followed up shortly after the student was removed from class to provide any support needed to the instructor and other students,” according to the email from COC. “We realize the presence of law enforcement personnel on campus may be cause for concern among students and employees. We are sharing this update with the college community, so everyone is aware that the situation has been addressed by law enforcement.”
Jensen said such talk is not an uncommon occurrence, but it’s something people should be very careful about.
“It’s very common for people to overdramatically state something and then immediately recant it. Our own community is very aware of why these incidents need to be taken seriously,” he added. “These statements are no joke to us — whether they’re an overreaction to a breakup or a bad grade.”
He also wanted to make it clear to the community that these incidents are always investigated to the fullest extent possible until deputies determine with certainty that there’s no real threat.
He also reminded the public that most residents have a campuswide reporting system, mentioning a tip line for the William S. Hart Union High School District as well.
