LOS ANGELES (AP) – The nation’s second-largest school district shut down all of its campuses Tuesday after an emailed threat targeted students at many Los Angeles-area schools.
The shooting in nearby San Bernardino that left 14 people dead this month influenced the decision to close all the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which 640,000 students attend, Superintendent Ramon Cortines said.
A law enforcement official says the threat was emailed to a school board member late Monday and appeared to come from overseas. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
Officials would not elaborate on the threat, saying it was still being evaluated, but said the shutdown came as a precaution. Schools would remain closed until the threat was cleared, which could happen by the end of the day, officials said.
Los Angeles schools commonly get threats, but Cortines called this one rare.