Youth Detained In Online Threats Sent To Newport-Mesa Campuses

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A youth was taken into custody Saturday in connection to threats sent on social media Friday to several high schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The Newport Beach Police Department said it took the youth to Orange County Juvenile Hall. Because they are under 18, no additional information about them will be released, police said.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said in a statement Saturday it was made aware of the threats made to several of its high schools but did not name which campuses received the messages. The district has six high schools in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa: Back Bay/Monte Vista, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Early College, Estancia and Newport Harbor high schools.

The posts initially didn't rise to the level of a crime, but Newport Beach police said they eventually threatened physical harm.

The Newport Beach and Costa Mesa police departments found the youth who made the threats and determined they "had no means to carry out the threat," authorities said.

Newport Beach police said it will "provide extra patrols throughout the week."

"We appreciate our local police departments and site administrators for quickly supporting our schools and investigating this matter, as well as our communities, who have followed our long-standing practice of 'see something, say something,'" Newport-Mesa said in a statement.