Caller Threatens To Shoot Reporters In Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA — A caller threatened to shoot reporters at the Associated Press bureau in Los Angeles Wednesday, triggering an ongoing police investigation.

The investigation started Wednesday afternoon when an Associated Press reporter Amanda Lee Myers in the Los Angeles bureau tweeted about a caller, who threatened, "At some point, we're just gonna start shooting you (expletives)." With mass shootings and violence toward journalists on the rise, authorities are taking the threat seriously.

In response, the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted, "We have become aware of this and are reporting it to the appropriate investigative entities."

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department told Patch the department has opened an investigation into the matter, but few additional details about the threat or the investigation have been released.

The threat comes less than two months after a gunman opened fire, killing five staffers at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis. It also comes amid a climate of hostility toward journalists egged on by President Donald Trump, who has labeled journalists "the enemy of the American people."

The Associated Press issued a statement saying the threat "was nonspecific but threatened possible violence."

"Each threat AP receives is taken very seriously. The safety of our employees is paramount. The threat was reported to local authorities. All AP's employees are safe."

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City News Service contributed to this report.