(Reuters) — Concerned parents of Los Angeles Unified School District students support the decision to shut down more than 1,000 public schools on Tuesday (December 15) over a threatened attack with bombs and assault rifles,
Hundreds of thousands of students and school employees were sent home as city leaders were criticized for overreacting to what federal officials later said was likely a hoax.
The emailed threat, which authorities said was “routed through Germany” but likely more local in origin, came less than two weeks after a married couple inspired by Islamic State killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a county office building in San Bernardino, just 60 miles (100 km) away.
Federal officials, who asked not to be identified, echoed an assessment by New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton that the decision in Los Angeles was an “over reaction” and that New York had received an almost identical threat that was quickly deemed not credible.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he backed the decision and Police Chief Charlie Beck said it should not be second-guessed because the threat was “very specific to Los Angeles Unified School District campuses.”
Beck said the email mentioned assault rifles and machine pistols and implied the use of explosives.
“Of course, of course we are all concerned because we don’t really know what this is about, we don’t know what will happen or what’s going on because there are no concrete responses yet about what is happening but I hope it’s resolved today and that we have an answer by the end of the day. We will see what happens,” said Rene Solis, a parent of LAUSD students.
Solis took the day off from work to stay home with his children.
“If there is a concrete threat on behalf of any terrorist group or any group, we have to take it seriously. We have to take it seriously because of what has happened in San Bernardino and abroad. It’s not the time to play guessing games or to wait around, we have to act. If they decided to act this way we have to accept it. I hope it’s resolved soon and that we can send the kids back to school. My main concern is that they stay safe,” added Solis.
The unprecedented move at the second-largest public school system in the United States left some 643,000 students and their families scrambling to cope.
“I’m not sure if it’s real or not but I find it pretty scary just to think that there would be even a report of this even happening. I’m pretty scared myself,” said David Leon, a student at Huntington Park HIgh School.
“Yeah it’s pretty scary because what if, that could be the last time I see my parents and it’s a scary feeling. It’s unexplainable because it’s unbelievable,” said Israel Ornelas, a student at Linda Esperanza Marquez High School. “It’s a scary feeling,”
Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, told the New York Times that the person who sent the email claimed to be a devout Muslim prepared to launch an attack using bombs, nerve gas and rifles with “32 jihadist friends” because he had been bullied at a Los Angeles high school.
Sherman told the paper that the number of attackers and claim to have nerve gas cast doubts on the credibility of the email, as did the writer consistently failing to capitalize the word “Allah.”
Police Chief Beck said it was “irresponsible” to criticize the decision in the aftermath of the Dec. 2 attack on a regional center in San Bernardino, California, east of Los Angeles.
Parents support the decision to close schools down and send children home.
“I prefer that they exaggerate even if they don’t have any specific information about which schools are targeted. We would have been much more worried if we knew that our daughters were there and then we were told about the threats. For me it’s good,” said Marjorie Rivera.
“Well it might not be real but we can’t let it go by inadvertently. If people are saying something it’s probably because something is going on and we have to take precautions,” said Angelica Guevara.