Online threat prompts precautionary action at middle school

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Students at Ethan A. Chase Middle School were confined to their first period classrooms for about five hours Friday while the school was placed on “hold and secure” status following an online threat to the school.

The Menifee Police Department was notified about 8 a.m. of the social media threat of a potential shooting at the school, according to a Menifee PD news release. The school took immediate precautions to ensure the safety of its students and staff.

According to Lt. Christina Reveles, “hold and secure” status is not the same as a lockdown, in which all lights are turned off and no one is allowed to move around. In this case, students had restroom access and were brought food by school authorities during the long wait.

Parents gathered outside the school were not allowed inside, but the Menifee PD officer assigned as a school resources officer told parents that the hold and secure remained in effect as a precaution while officers served a search warrant at a Lake Elsinore location that was determined to be the source of the threat.

The hold and secure order was lifted about 1 p.m. and parents were allowed inside one by one to pick up their child if they desired to do so.

“At this time, detectives have no reason to believe that the threat was credible; however, the investigation is still ongoing to identify the source,” the news release stated. “The hold and secure was lifted and normal school operations resumed throughout the afternoon.”

“The Menifee Police Department would like to remind the public that threats in our community will not be tolerated,” the statement continued. “We encourage parents to have conversations with their children about the severity of these types of threats and the importance of being responsible when using social media.”