Aragon High Community on Alert Following Online Threats Made Against School

The Aragon High School community was on high alert Wednesday after online threats were discovered against the school.

The threats, reported by staff to the San Mateo Police Department Wednesday morning, were made via an anonymous "Confessions" page combining an online Google document with a Facebook fan page.

A junior at Aragon High spoke with San Mateo Patch on Wednesday night, and said the "Confessions" page was made public sometime Sunday or Monday night.

The student, who wished to remain anonymous, said the page contained nearly 400 posts of "really random comments about classes, teachers, and other students."

Police called the threats against Aragon High "rambling," and the student said he saw the post before it was deleted.

"It said that, 'I will shoot up the school tomorrow,' " the student told San Mateo Patch.

According to the student, the last line of the threat said, "3/21/13; expect me."

The student said he didn't know who posted the threat. San Mateo police were working with the school district, as well as the social media site, to investigate and assess the source and level of the threat.

"These threats are taken seriously, and offenders issuing or posting any threats will be held accountable," San Mateo Police Sgt. Dave Norris said in a statement.

The student who talked to San Mateo Patch said he noticed an increased police presence on campus Wednesday, and that students and staff were aware of the threats.

"There were teachers who were definitely more cautious with locking their doors," the student said.

The student said he planned to attend school on Thursday, though he knew of many other students who said they would stay home.

"This day and age they have to take any threat seriously, so it's definitely something we're concerned about," the student said. "But there was a lot of random stuff on that page so it's possible it was just somebody trying to get attention."

A message from the San Mateo Police Department:

While it is not our experience that real threats are posted in advance on popular on-line forums, the safety of our City’s students and school campuses are of paramount concern. Police presence will be heightened at the campus and security operations will be conducted in the interim. 

Our schools and public safety staff continually review and drill on our safety practices and are well prepared to address any and all safety concerns on our campuses. Once further investigation has revealed any additional details, Police and the Schools will work closely to determine the appropriate next steps to ensure the safety of San Mateo’s school campuses. 

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