Bomb threat cancels class for five King City schools and early childhood center

UPDATE 11/4/15 3:15 PM: A bomb threat forced the King City Union School District to cancel classes on Wednesday. After several sweeps at its schools, nothing suspicious has been found.

Around 6 p.m. Tuesday night, the King City Police Department said someone called 911 saying a bomb would go off at Chalone Peaks Middle School on Wednesday. Not wasting any time, officers with the help of maintenance staff swept the grounds. The King City Union School District said it didn’t take any chances with student safety, and decided to close Chalone Middle School, Phoenix Academy, Del Rey Elementary Santa Lucia Elementary, King City Arts Magnet School and the Early Childhood Center on Wednesday.

“All of our school sites are very close together,” explained Dr. Theresa Rouse, superintendent for KCUSD. “So we felt out of safety for students and staff, close the district and make certain we are all safe.”

On Wednesday, the campus was quiet. Picnic tables and playgrounds were empty. The only people on a campus of 800 students were police officers and a bomb sniffing K-9 officer.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we want to make sure there’s nothing there,” said King City Interim Police Chief Tony Sollecito.

After searching the school, detectives are now searching for the person responsible for making the threat. If caught, they could face a felony charge that comes with prison time.

“It appears at this point it came from a disconnected cell phone,” Chief Sollecito said. “And what some people don’t know is that a disconnected cell phone, if it will still power up, it does still have the capability to call 911.”

Detectives are now trying to track down who had that number last. Parents say they feel confident that police are on top of it.

“If there’s going to be police on the lookout,” Hilda Aguilar said, “Then I would feel more comfortable. For example, if they had gone in today to school and they hadn’t warned us then I would’ve gotten scared but if there’s going to be security officers tomorrow then it’ll be ok.”

King City police officers will be stationed outside of Chalone Peaks Middle School on Thursday when classes resume. The superintendent says they are looking at putting more staff out front when classes resume at the elementary schools.

Despite this district closure, King City High School was open for the day. It falls under a different school district. Administrators say students were safe because the threat wasn’t directed at the high school.

UPDATE 11/4/15 12:19 PM: Classes are canceled for six schools in the King City Union School District Wednesday because of multiple bomb threats called into the district Tuesday evening, according to district leaders.

The district said the threat was aimed at Chalone Peaks Middle School, for Wednesday, November 4. For added caution, the district decided to close Chalone Peaks Middle School, Phoenix Academy, Del Rey Elementary School, Santa Lucia Elementary School, King City Arts Magnet School and the Early Childhood Center for Wednesday.

King City Police said investigators have swept the school and haven’t located any suspicious materials.

The South Monterey County Joint Union High School District said its schools remain open on Wednesday, including King City High School, Greenfield High and Portola-Butler High. District leaders said they are also working with police to assure their campuses are safe and secure.

SMCJUH School District said video from surveillance cameras at school campuses was normal Tuesday night, allowing staff to feel students were clear of any danger Wednesday morning.

NewsChannel 5 will have more on this story at 5 and 6.

PREVIOUS STORY: The King City Union School District school sites will be closed on Wednesday, November 4th due to safety concerns, following multiple threats received by the King City Police Department.

According to the school district’s website, Chalone Peaks Middle School, Del Rey Elementary School, Santa Lucia Elementary School, King City Arts Magnet School and Phoenix Academy will be closed.

The school district is working with the police department to investigate the threats. They plan for school to resume on Thursday, November 5th.