STAFFER SUSPECTED IN CAMPUS THREAT

Rancho Buena Vista says staff member resigned; incident occurred Jan. 13

A staff member at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista was identified as a suspect after a threat was called in to the school in January, prompting a temporary lockdown, sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

The Sheriff’s Department said investigators “developed probable cause to arrest” the 52-year-old staff member in connection with the Jan. 13 incident.

The staffer was not arrested. Investigators forwarded the information to the District Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution, according to a news release.

The employee is scheduled to be arraigned in Vista Superior Court on March 7, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The charges, if any, will be announced at that time.

A school district official said Friday that the employee has resigned.

Vista Unified School District Superintendent Matt Doyle sent a letter to parents Thursday calling the incident an alleged “swatting” — a type of prank in which someone makes a false report to law enforcement, prompting them to send officers or deputies, including SWAT teams, to someone’s address.

Doyle said the unsubstantiated threat was the latest in a series of incidents in recent months at Rancho Buena Vista High School. At no point were any staff or students in danger, he said.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, deputies were notified of an anonymous threat of violence made at the high school on Longhorn Drive near Melrose Drive just before 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 13. The school was placed on “secure campus” status, meaning students and staff were kept indoors while authorities searched for evidence of a threat.

A school resource deputy, station deputies and detectives swept the campus, Sgt. Alfred Gathings