Alleged threats stir Calexico High campus
CALEXICO — A large police presence greeted Calexico High students for their first day of school Monday, a day after a 16-year-old classmate was arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot at the campus.
Though the law enforcement deployment was standard for the start of the school year and will continue through the week, the police presence on Monday helped ease some students’ nerves in the wake of the alleged threat.
Widely shared news that the student accused of making the online threat was arrested Sunday also helped alleviate any lingering concerns for junior Joshua Granados.
He said he became aware of the alleged threat a few days prior to Sunday, when the Calexico Police Department and the Calexico Unified School District had disclosed the alleged threat and subsequent arrest.
“I thought it was a joke,” Granados said, referring to the alleged
threat.
The alleged threat was reportedly made in June but did not come to the attention of the authorities until Saturday, officials said. Police are crediting the high school’s students with recently reporting the matter to authorities.
Granados said that he doesn’t have an overwhelming fear that a student could one day be able to carry out a mass shooting without being discovered in advance by their peers.
“Students talk too much so it’ll get out before it happens,” he said.
The alleged threat did not specify any date on which it would occur nor did it specify whether any specific student or classroom would be targeted, said police Chief Gonzalo Gerardo.
The arrested unidentified male student reportedly did not have access to firearms, Gerardo said.
The alleged threat was made in reference to the high school’s recent decision to prevent its students from leaving the campus during the lunch hour, the Calexico Police Department reported on Sunday.
The person making the alleged threat stated that if the school closed the campus, “it’s time to be a school shooter,” a CPD press release stated.
Another unidentified person responded to the accused male student that the campus’ lunchtime closure was approved. The accused male student then stated “welp I’m gonna buy a vun,” “gun,” the police reported.
News of the incident and arrest had prompted one of Maria Cabrera’s teachers to indicate on Monday they would likely keep the classroom’s door locked at all times going forward, the senior said.
Cabrera said she, too, became aware of the alleged threat — which she admittedly did not take too seriously — through other students before authorities disclosed the incident.
“I was kind of used to it,” she said. “It’s not the first time that they made jokes and threats.”
While she did acknowledge the possibility that a mass shooting could one day occur on campus, she is opposed to allowing teachers and staff arm themselves and said it was best to have law enforcement solely respond to such incidents.
“The weapons are the problems. Why would you want the problems in the schools?” Cabrera said in reference to having armed teachers.
When 10th-grader Jeremy Cole first became aware of the alleged threat last week, he said he didn’t consider it a joke at all and promptly notified his older brother and mother.
He, too, took comfort in the large police presence on Monday as well as news of the accused student’s arrest. Yet, repeated news of mass shootings over the past five years have proved hard for him to ignore.
“It’s only been on my mind recently,” Cole said.
Although his older brother, senior Jared Anderton, agreed that a mass shooting can occur just about anytime and anywhere, he said that he is not all that fearful of one happening in Calexico anytime soon.
“I feel that there’s less risk here than anywhere else,” Anderton said.
In May 2017, three high school students were arrested after Calexico police determined the three had reportedly conspired to randomly shoot their classmates. Gerardo said.
The accused students reportedly shared text messages and maps detailing their plot, Gerardo said.
On Monday, he took the opportunity to address the campus in the morning through its public address system.
“I reiterated the fact that we will not take any threat lightly,” Gerardo said.
He further encouraged the campus and wider community to report any suspicious activity.
“I would prefer to have bogus tips that lead to nothing than miss one and have something happen,” Gerardo said.
The Police Department currently has a school resource officer who spends much of the time assigned to the high school and nearby De Anza Ninth Grade Academy.
The school district last year approved funding to compensate an additional school resource officer, which the department hopes to soon hire.
“I’m looking to hopefully fill that position this year,” Gerardo said.
The department plans to file its report regarding the alleged threat with the proper authorities alleging a violation of California Penal Code Section 422, making criminal threats, the CPD reported.