Bomb Threat At Palo Alto Middle School Deemed Not Credible

PALO ALTO, CA — A bomb threat at a Palo Alto middle school has been deemed to be without merit, police said.

A student at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School has been identified as the source of the threat written on a bathroom stall at a middle school, which prompted an investigation conducted jointly between law enforcement and school officials, according to police.

“School officials are now handling the matter administratively,” police said in a news release.

Officers at around 11:24 p.m. Tuesday responded to the school on the report of a suspicious incident.

Investigators determined that a student found writings scrawled on a stall inside a girls’ bathroom indicating that the author intended to bomb the school on Wednesday during the school day, police said.

The student promptly reported their discovery to staff, who in turn notified police.

“Following a joint investigation between the police, school administrators, and school district officials, school administrators are confident they have identified the source of the threat as a student at the school,” police said in a statement.

“The joint investigation has determined that the threat was not credible.”

Officers remained on site at the school throughout the day Tuesday until the incident was resolved.

Police praised the student who came forward to report the threat, along with other students who cooperated with investigators.

“The actions of all these students are consistent with the common mantra of ‘If you see something, say something,’ and directly contributed to maintaining a safe environment at the school for their classmates and staff alike,” police said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the PAPD’s 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.

Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.