Suspicious Calls Prompts Police Presence at Paloma

Riverside County Sheriff's deputies are on site at Paloma Valley High School this morning as a precaution and to investigate suspicious calls to the school.

According to Dr. Jonathan Greenberg, superintendent of the Perris Union School District, the school is not on lockdown. He said the calls appear to have come from one person, believed to be a teenager, and that they appear to be prank calls. He would not comment on specifics of the calls, but parents of Paloma Valley students received a voice mail this morning saying the police activity is because of a threat called into the school.

"These calls have been coming for a couple days," Greenberg said. "We believe them to be prank calls, but of course we don't want to underestimate the situation. The Sheriff's Department agrees with us that it's appropriate for them to be on site to find out who's doing this and to allay any fears. If we believed something was imminent, we would lock down the school. That is not the case."

Greenberg said officers are not searching students but are on site for safety reasons to investigate the calls.

"I think this is an appropriate response, and the Sheriff's Department agrees," Greenberg said. "Having the police around, everyone will feel safer. We believe it's a prank and I think we're getting closer to determining who did this."