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A juvenile suspect whose social media posts caused four local schools to issue secure campus orders is being held in a medical facility due to a psychiatric issue less than 24 hours after the orders were issued.
On Wednesday, Menlo-Atherton High School learned a former student posted “concerning content” that threatened violence in a social media post, causing secure campus orders at Menlo-Atherton, Carlmont High School in Belmont, the lower campus of Laurel Elementary School and Encinal Elementary School.
While the threat was specifically regarding Menlo-Atherton, police originally did not know whether the threat was targeting Carlmont or Menlo-Atherton. Carlmont issued a secure campus order at the request of the Belmont Police Department as a precaution until police confirmed the threat was regarding Menlo-Atherton, Belmont police Lt. Pete Lotti said.
Two Menlo Park City School District campuses were also put on a secure campus order around 1 p.m. out of an “abundance of caution” due to their proximity to Menlo-Atherton, according to school officials. The order lasted until 2 p.m.
The Atherton Police Department detained the individual who made the threats on Wednesday. While they have not been arrested, the individual is being held at a medical facility due to psychiatric issues, according to Atherton police Cmdr. Dan Larsen.
While Menlo-Atherton was on a secure campus order for more than an hour, Principal Karl Losekoot told the school community that there was no threat to the safety of students or staff.
“At no point was there ever an active threat or dangerous situation on campus. Once the individual was located and Atherton PD was able to investigate the threat directly, we lifted the secure campus alert,” Losekoot said in an email to community members.
During a secure campus order, school instruction continues but classroom doors are locked and people must stay inside the classrooms.
The school received an anonymous tip on Sept. 10 through its See Something, Say Something tip line that reported an individual was making a threat against Menlo-Atherton.
Following the tip, Atherton police officers secured Menlo-Atherton’s perimeter while law enforcement located the individual. The secure campus order issued by the school was lifted at approximately 2 p.m.
The suspect is currently a student at an unidentified local school. The Belmont Police Department did not say if they are a student at Carlmont.
The Atherton Police Department is still actively investigating the incident.
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