Torrey Pines HS Shut Down 5/31, Suspect in Custody after 'Threat'

SDUHSD Confirmed Closed School 5/31/18 After a Shooting Threat Posted on Instagram, Now a Suspect is in Custody

The threat SDPD revealed, was a handgun with comments of suicidal intentions, and killing others with him. Matlak posted the image on Instagram. After former students of Torrey Pines saw the post they then reported it. Police were first contacted at 9:40 pm last night. The threat was considered credible because a image of a gun was posted, it has not been confirmed if Matlak has any weapons. School admin were made aware of situation early Thursday morning, when at 6:40 am, Principal Rob Coppo sent out an email. True motive has not been released from SDPD.

Arrest Made

SDPD tracked 21 year old Kevin Gregory Matlak to his home on 3300 Fenelon Street and was taken into custody at 1:05pm in Point Loma with-out issue said SDPD North Western Division Capt. Daryl Hoover. Matlak is charged with Penal Code 422, criminal threats. On Matlak's Facebook page, he labels him self as self-employed and from Del Mar, back in high school he was interested in cars and photography. He regularly went to the Carmel Valley Skate Park. Local neighbors said to local news agencies five cop cars pulled up, but no weapons were drawn. As of a little after 1:00 PM, Matlak was booked in San Diego Central Jail. " The investigation into his (potential) access to weapons continues," San Diego Police Captain Daryl Hoover said.

His residential home located in a peaceful community in Point Loma

Torrey's Rough History

This is the 3rd threat to TPHS since Feb. A 14 Year old freshmen was arrested and taken to juvenile detention for saying written threats, he was arrested on PC-422 (Criminal Threats). A 16 year old was also arrested back in Feb, he was a former student accused of a threatening school shooting. Both those threats were non credible, and school remained open and on schedule. Torrey Pines High School a top academic and athletic school in CA serves around 2,700 students, and has only 11 days left of school as of 6/1. School is out of session for SDUHSD students June 15th. Tuesday marked the start of ASB Leadership voting, and the Falcons baseball team is gearing up for the the championship game at University San Diego at seven pm on Saturday.

Principal Coppo's Email to Families:

Falcon Families, I want to thank you all for your support and understanding as we worked through a challenging day for our school. Our first priority is to keep students and staff safe, so we worked closely with SDPD and our SDUHSD leadership team to ensure the safety of our students and staff. The decision to close Torrey Pines and suspend school activities is complex, and involves many factors, but based on the information we had this morning, closing the school was the right thing to do for our students and staff. As it is an ongoing investigation, I cannot share any details of the threat that have not already been shared by SDPD. What I can share is that early this morning we received information from SDPD about a possible threat to Torrey Pines. Given the facts shared with us about the threat, we decided to close school as a precautionary measure. We have continued to work with SDPD throughout the day as they monitored our campus and continued their investigation. Later in the day, we received information that the police took a suspect into custody. School will be open as usual on Friday, June 1st. Tomorrow will be a 2-3-4-6 day as planned. Based on our conversations with SDPD, I can assure you that the threat was investigated thoroughly, and there is no known danger to our school at this time. All classes and school activities will proceed as planned tomorrow. We will send updates on the rescheduling of school events, including Awards Night. We are continuing to work with SDPD to keep a presence on campus, which we hope will help everyone feel safe. Our administrators, campus supervisors, teachers, and support staff will continue to monitor the campus, and work with any students who share a concern. Our counselors, school psychologists, and mental health support providers will be on campus tomorrow ready to serve our students. Please encourage your student to reach out if they need support. The issue of school safety continues to be a local and national conversation.The fear we all feel at times like this is very real, [so it] is important for all of us to work together to help our students understand how to respond in times of stress. We encourage you to talk to your student about this important topic, and be a source of support for them. We work with amazing families, and we have an incredible team of educators at TPHS to serve your students. When we all work together, we make our school and community a safer place. Now is the time for us to unite as a Falcon Family and Take Pride in ourselves, Take Pride in each other, and Take Pride in our school. We are TP. Rob Coppo Principal - Torrey Pines High School

Jake Noble is a freelance Photographer, and field news author from Carmel Valley, San Diego.

He can be contacted at Jake@jakenobleworks.com

|| Jake Noble is the Patch Mayor Staff of the Del Mar-Carmel Valley Patch ||

This article is subject to updates and corrections at any moment.