Oceanside Unified Addresses Concerns Over School Shooting Threat Allegedly Made by Student

OCEANSIDE, CA — A parent meeting was held Monday night at Lincoln Middle School in Oceanside to address and discuss an investigation into a threat allegedly made by a seventh-grade student that he was going to "shoot up" the school.

In a statement on the Oceanside Unified School District's website, officials said they learned of the potential threat on Sept. 20.

In addition to making general verbal comments about carrying out a shooting at the campus, the youth wrote out a list of students and staff members he wanted to harm, even though he apparently had no access to a gun, the administrators said.

"School leadership, in partnership with law enforcement, quickly investigated and dealt with the potential situation. While there is no immediate concern we would like to be proactive and inform our families of this matter," the statement read.

"Our priority at the Oceanside Unified School District is to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment for our students. We also believe in communicating openly with our school community about incidents that occur on or near our campuses."

The student, whose name was not released, was questioned by officers with the Oceanside Police Department, who determined that criminal charges were not warranted in the case, OPD Lt. Taurino Valdovinos said.

Despite that decision, school authorities decided to increase security at the campus as a precaution, according to the district statement.

During the meeting Monday night, speakers mentioned reports that the boy might have made the threats out of anger over being bullied and teased, the lieutenant said.

For those who were not able to attend the meeting, the district posted answers to "Frequently Asked Questions," which officials put together based on questions asked by those in attendance.

Among the questions was whether the student will be returning to the school. The district's answer was:

"No. The student will not be returning to Lincoln Middle School. The intervention plan for the individual is still being worked out and is confidential. Again, we can confirm that the individual will not be back on the Lincoln Middle School campus."

Administrators also said:

"OUSD has policies and procedures in place to provide for the safety and security of our students. The district feels confident that, given the information we have on the individual and based on our collaboration with law enforcement, our campus communities are safe.
"OUSD believes that we have an obligation to share information with the community, especially relating t0 community safety.
"Campus staff know what this individual looks like and have been trained to respond appropriately.
"Due to FERPA, the district cannot disclose the individuals name or where this individual resides.
"We are sharing this information with Lincoln Middle School parents and families because the threat happened on their child’s campus. We are also sharing this information with Palmquist Elementary and South Oceanside parents and families because of their school’s proximity to Lincoln and family relationships."

— City News Service contributed to this report.

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