The nation’s second-largest school district shut down Tuesday after a school board member received an emailed threat that raised fears of another attack like the deadly shooting in nearby San Bernardino.
Authorities in New York City said they received the same threat but quickly concluded that it was a hoax.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters that he was “absolutely convinced” there was no danger to schoolchildren in his city.
“There was nothing credible about the threat. It was so outlandish,” de Blasio said.
New York Police Commissioner William Bratton agreed, quipping that it looked like the sender of the threat watched a lot of the Showtime terrorism drama “Homeland.”
Hours later, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee also said the threat was believed to be a hoax.
Los Angeles officials defended the move.
“It is very easy in hindsight to criticize a decision based on results the decider could never have known,” LA Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference.
The shutdown abruptly closed more than 900 public schools and 187 charter schools attended by 640,000 students across Los Angeles.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines said every campus would be searched, and he asked for a report on the searches certifying that all buildings are safe.
The threat, the New York officials said, came in the form of a “generic” email to many cities around the country. In New York, it was received by a superintendent early Tuesday.
Bratton called the closure a “significant overreaction.”
“We cannot allow ourselves to raise levels of fear,” said Bratton, who once ran the Los Angeles Police Department.
The person who wrote the note, Bratton said, claimed to be a jihadist but made errors that indicated the writer was really a prankster, including spelling the word “Allah” with a lowercase “a.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he would not second-guess the decisions made in Los Angeles or New York. He said the FBI has been in touch with California authorities.
The decision to close the district disrupted the morning routines of many Los Angeles families.
Lupita Vela, who has a daughter in the third grade and a son who is a high school senior, called the threat “absolutely terrifying” in light of the San Bernardino attack, which killed 14 people earlier this month.
She got an automated phone call informing her of the closure.
“I know the kids are anxious,” she said.
District spokeswoman Shannon Haber said the threat was sent by email to a school board member and was believed to have come from an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany.
Beck said the email was specific to all the campuses in the district and included implied threats about explosive devices, assault rifles and machine pistols.
The city schools commonly get threats, but Cortines called this one rare.
“It was not to one school, two schools or three schools,” he said at a news conference. “It was many schools, not specifically identified. But there were many schools. That’s the reason I took the action that I did.”
The San Bernardino attack influenced the decision to close the entire district, Cortines said.
The superintendent said the district police chief informed him about the threat shortly after 5 a.m.
“He shared with me that some of the details talked about backpacks, talked about other packages,” Cortines said.
Vela said she worries about talking to her kids about the threat and terrorism in general. She’s concerned about her daughter feeling safe in class.
“I don’t want this to be in the back of her head,” she said. “Who knows what it does psychologically to kids? Is this going to cause her some kind of trauma so that she’s not going to feel safe at school?”
The closure came the same day classes were canceled at San Bernardino Valley College because of a bomb threat.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Mary Kelly says
You cannot be too safe when children are concern.
Doug Gentry says
Looks to me like the terrorist have won in California. I am not surprised , Looks like they not only negotitated, but Bowed to Terrorism. In the South we love our children but terrorist would get their butt’s handed to them. California is the center of most jokes here along with, DC, New York , although New York didn’t back off. What if Cali gets a threat each week, are they wating to play chicken little.
Denise says
California Schools did the right thing, making sure the children was safe. Look at how many children and adults have all ready lost their lives from foreigner and domestic terrorist. Let New York make their own decisions,
And California keep making the best decision, keep the Children Safe !
Good Job California !!!!!
Joe Sanchez says
De Blasio obviously has no problem making “No” damn decisions with people’s children who do not belong to him, He is the same clown who also had no problem insulting the New York police, with millions of Radical muslims who’s agenda are to kill Americans, why would anyone dismiss any threat. One very important thing that should be in the back of everyone’s mind, is the fact the NWO is very real and the order to terminate two thirds of our population has been in the works for a very long time.