All Los Angeles Unified School District Schools Closed Due to Terrorist Threat

Decision was superintendent’s; LAPD tells TheWrap no “tactical alert” has been ordered

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All Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools were closed on Tuesday after a Board member received a terrorist threat.

The decision to shut down the schools was made by Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who later described the apparent bomb scare as an “electronic threat” that was “conveyed not to one school, but many schools in the district.”

“Details talked about backpacks, other packages,” he added during a morning press conference.

The LAUSD tweeted out that all students are safe. Arrangements are being made for any students who were already on an LAUSD campus to be picked up.

Cortines described this particular threat as being of the “rare” variety, adding, “We get threats all the time.”

He admitted that the shooting in nearby San Bernadino, Calif., prompted the administration to take this one more seriously — but it was also the widespread nature of the threats that really caught their attention. All schools are being searched before a hopeful reopening on Wednesday.

There is currently no “tactical alert” on the LAPD’s end, Officer Madison told TheWrap. A tactical alert is a mobilization term that allows the department to draw any available unit from any division if necessary.

The school board will update the press with further details at 9 a.m. PT, representatives said.

LAUSD is the second largest school district in the country, serving more than 640,000 students between kindergarten and 12th grade, per its website. There are more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools in the district.

The LAUSD boundaries spread over 720 square miles and include the mega-city of Los Angeles as well as all or parts of 31 smaller municipalities plus several unincorporated sections of Southern California.

Below are LAUSD’s relevant tweets from this morning.

Tony Maglio

TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio

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