Sequoia student arrested after threat

Porterville Unified School District was made aware Tuesday morning of a threat made on social media by a student at Sequoia Middle School.

Details of the threat were not made available, but due to its nature the student was taken into custody by the Porterville Police Department after an initial investigation.

Representatives from PUSD say they are in ongoing contact with the Porterville Police Department in order to ensure the safety of its students and staff members.

The district added that there is no evidence at this time that the student in question had any firearms in his possession while on campus or at his home.

This is the second threat of school violence at a Tulare County school in less than a week, and both threats came from middle school students. Last Thursday a Pixley Middle School teenager was arrested after threatening to “shoot up the school,” and after obtaining a search warrant, detectives from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office found a handgun and four rifles at the student’s home.

Both events come in the aftermath of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed by a teenage gunman.

PUSD was not able to give many details on the incident, but said they are mindful of the context of recent events and the possibility of a copycat crime. There was also a recent false alarm for PUSD last month, when local residents saw a school threat online referring to MHS and thought it meant Monache High School. It was later discovered the threat referred to Monroe High School in Va., and ended up being a hoax.

As a result, PUSD is cautious about releasing details at this time, and have referred all media inquiries to PPD, who did not return a call requesting information prior to publication.