Police were forced to investigate after a teenage girl posted pictures with an assault rifle and threatened to shoot up a school.
The Santa Rosa Police Department shared the photos online of the girl, sitting on bed sheets in front of an American flag.
‘This is no joke! Santa rosa high school stay safe,’ the girl shared on Snapchat along with a heart emoji.
‘No one go to school tomorrow. This is the school shooter. Block your Snapchat location and stay home.’
This is the fourth such threat to hit schools in Sonoma County in two days.
Police were forced to investigate after a teenage girl posted pictures on Snapchat on Thursday with an assault rifle and threatened to shoot up Santa Rosa High School
The Santa Rosa Police Department, however, told students and parents alike they need not worry as they sent out a tweet on Thursday evening
The Santa Rosa Police Department, however, told students and parents alike they need not worry as they sent out a tweet on Thursday evening.
‘If you’ve heard about the reported threat to Santa Rosa High School yesterday you may have also seen a version of this image,’ the tweet read.
‘Rest assured, we have already pursued and investigated this image thoroughly and will continue to monitor the situation.
This is fourth time since Wednesday that a school in Sonoma County has been threatened with violence.
On Wednesday morning, also at Santa Rosa High School, threatening graffiti was found written in the girls’ bathroom, according to school officials.
A student told school staff at around 11.15am that there was a threat written in graffiti in the bathroom at DeSoto Hall.
Written in black marker on the tile wall, the message read: ‘3/1 the school is gonna be shot up…’, according to a photograph of the graffiti provided by a parent who declined to be named.
On Wednesday morning, also at Santa Rosa High School (pictured), threatening graffiti was found written in the girls’ bathroom, according to school officials
Written in black marker on the tile wall, the message read: ‘3/1 the school is gonna be shot up…’, but police said there was no evidence to substantiate the threat
Police interviewed students at Santa Rosa High School on Wednesday after the threat was first reported to staff, according to Lt John Snetsinger said.
Officials said there was no evidence to substantiate the threat, and the school remained open on Thursday.
Police believed it to be a copycat of another incident on Wednesday in which a 16-year-old Analy High School student was arrested on suspicion of writing a threat of violence on one of the school’s bathroom walls.
Earlier on Thursday morning, Piner High School went on lockdown after a call came in just after 8am reporting a person with black hair, a gas mask, a black trench coat and carrying a rifle walking on Fulton Road near the school.
Later, scanner traffic reported the person was not carrying a rifle, but rather a large umbrella. With the school on lockdown, police were seen outside questioning a man in a trench coat, wearing large headphones and carrying an umbrella.
Earlier on Thursday morning, Piner High School (pictured) went on lockdown after a call came in just after 8am reporting a person with black hair, a gas mask a black trench coat and rifle walking on Fulton Road near the school
In yet another incident on Wednesday, a 16-year-old Analy High School student was arrested on suspicion of writing a threat of violence on one of the school’s bathroom walls (Pictured, Analy High School)
‘We were never under any danger, and as a precaution we did lock the school down, and we’ll always do that to keep our students safe,’ said Piner High School Vice Principal Andrea Correia.
‘I think, generally, people in our community are aware of everything that’s happening, and due to that they don’t want to overlook anything. They’re very vigilant, which is a good thing. It’s better to be safe than sorry.’
In a news release about the Piner lockdown, the Santa Rosa Police Department said that the department gets ‘calls like this every day’.
‘With what has happened at schools, we are all probably a little more on edge,’ the release said. ‘That’s OK – we want you to call when you see something suspicious. If you see something, say something. We are here for you.’