UPDATE: Santa Cruz High School email threat investigation continues
UPDATE 12/10/14, 5:44p.m.: Santa Cruz Police say investigators are continuing to work a number of strategies and leads. Detectives say they have had email contact with the person claiming to be the original e-mailer as late as last week.
Nothing new has come from these contacts and the person continues to make promises of surrendering, or turning in the “real” person responsible for the original threat.
Detectives though, continue to work the forensic computer end of the information. Additionally, Santa Cruz Police are collaborating with two other out-of-state police departments who are dealing with similar threats.
Police say they are constantly assessing the information and the threat level to the school and will immediately update the community if anything changes.
Increased police presence around the school campuses is also continuing.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Unit (831) 420-5820. Anonymous tips can also be sent to the police department through our Tip Line (831) 420-5995, or from our Website; www.santacruzpolice.com. Tipsters can also submit an anonymous tip via our smartphone app or from an SMS text. Visit our Website for instructions.
UPDATE 11/21/14, 12:00pm: Santa Cruz Police say we cannot confirm whether or not the actual suspect is a student.
Detectives have been continuously working on the case to determine the origin and identity of the threat and say they continue to monitor the threat to the students and staff.
On Friday Police issued a message to the suspect saying “If this person is actually the suspect, they can end the public concern by simply surrendering to the police department allowing us to resolve the case and relieve community concerns.”
Officers went on to say that they are also “extremely cognizant of the potential for copycats or friends of the actual suspect trying to distract the investigation.”
Thursday night detectives detained and interviewed two persons of interest in conjunction with both this case, as well as a separate unrelated case.
The people cooperated so a search warrant was not necessary. The persons of interest allowed detectives to take their computer equipment. They also shared information about potential suspects and people with the technological savvy to be involved with this threat.
Detectives are continuing to use software tools to identify a suspect, as well as looking into possible suspects based on tips and information.
Police also stressed to the public the importance of waiting for facts before speculating or spreading information that may not be correct.
Santa Cruz High School principal Karen Edmonds says attendance was up Friday after 200 kids stayed home the day school re-opened. She said about 85-90% of the students were back to school. There is a still a more heightened police presence at the school.
UPDATE 11/20/14, 1:30pm: Santa Cruz High School principal Karen Edmonds tells NewsChannel 5 that 200 students were absent Thursday, the first day that school resumed after the email threat of a mass shooting. That is about 35-40% of the student population at the high school, but all school staff made the decision to return to work.
However, there is a major Santa Cruz Police presence at the high school, most officers are in the plain clothes.
Edmonds tells Jake Reiner that she was extremely worried when she got the email and that it was just a stroke of luck that she was checking her emails at the time.
Although she wasn’t able to say much about the content of the email she did say it was not addressed to her directly and it was made up of only three lines.
Police are being tight-lipped about the investigation of the email, only to say they do not have anyone in custody. Deputy Chief Steve Clark will not not give a reason as to why they felt it was safe to open school again Thursday.
The entire investigative department is now working with the FBI on the email, Police do know the sender used some sort of foreign server to encrypt the email.
UPDATE 11/19/14, 11:00am: The FBI is actively working with Santa Cruz Police detectives to find out the source of the email sent to Santa Cruz High School principal Tuesday night.
School was canceled Wednesday after the threat, which police say was “very sophisticated and concise,” mentioned a specific date, time, location and weapon. It also mentioned a mass shooting. No specific teacher or staff names were mentioned in the email.
Police say no other schools were mentioned in the email but patrols will be in place throughout the day to ensure safety.
Detectives are also trying to learn more about what was happening on campus in recent days at the school.
The school district has not yet said whether school will be in session Thursday.
Santa Cruz City Schools superintendent Kris Monroe plans to hold a news conference at 1p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
11/19/14, 7:10am:
Santa Cruz High School is closed Wednesday after school officials say there was a threat to student safety.
Police are investigating the incident and say detectives could not invalidate the email so Santa Cruz City School District said out of caution to ensure the safety of students and staff, classes are canceled for the day.
Emergency calls were made to parents around 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Staff are also at the school to alert and advise any students who do come to campus.
So far detectives say no other school principals in the district have received a similar email.
Santa Cruz Police got the call about the email about 8:45p.m. Tuesday and worked overnight with the school district.
Police say the threat consisted of an explicit email sent to the school principal. The threat was directed at the student population and was specific in terms of location, time and type of weapon.
Detectives are currently working to dissect the encryption used to send the email threat and identify the sender. They say they are using every available means including possibly working with the FBI to determine the origins of this threat.
