Police investigating separate threats against Merced High, Cruickshank Middle School

Merced police are investigating after being alerted to shooting threats being made at local middle and high schools Wednesday.

One juvenile has been arrested.

Just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, police were informed about writing on a wall inside of a Merced High bathroom. Lt. Emily Foster said the message threatened that a school shooting would happen Sept. 24.

Later Wednesday at about 10:10 p.m., police learned about an Instagram post threatening a shooting at Cruickshank Middle School. Police identified two students, a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old, who are suspected of being behind the social media post.

The 13-year-old student was arrested on suspicion of felony criminal threats and released to the parents.

Police are continuing to investigate the threats at both schools. “We don’t have any information that would lead us to believe that either of those threats are credible,” Foster said.

According to Foster, the writing inside the Merced High bathroom was also shared on social media. “Ensuring the safety of students at school is obviously a priority,” Foster said.

Foster said regardless of whether a threat is called in or posted on social media, police take every message seriously. “We want parents and students to take is serious as well.”

The Merced Union High School District released a statement to the Sun-Star on Thursday, saying the threat at Merced High was written on a girls’ bathroom stall and has since been removed.

“The tip came in through the district’s anonymous Tip 411 system, and as soon as MUHSD was made aware, the district immediately began working with Merced Police Department on an investigation,” the statement said.

“MUHSD takes all potential threats seriously and will take every precaution to ensure the safety of its students and staff.”

Parents and staff were informed of the incident and school will continue on regular session as scheduled with an increased police presence on and around campus, the district said.

The Merced City School District released a statement to the Merced Sun-Star Thursday afternoon, saying that on Thursday morning, that a School Resource Officer alerted the district to a social media post between two Cruickshank Middle School students. The district said the posts that were shared late Wednesday night, were threatening violence against the school

“The information was shared last night with law enforcement who responded immediately. The students who made the posts were identified. Law enforcement has concluded their investigation and determined that there is no credible threat to the school,” the statement said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, our SRO will be on campus at CMS tomorrow. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. We take threats of any kind seriously and we have policies and procedures in place to respond to safety concerns such as this. We want to reassure our school community that all students and staff are safe and the school remained in session. We thank our staff and our partners in law enforcement for their quick response to protect our school community.”

Foster said the police department encourages anyone with information of any threat to contact police or the Merced Area Crime Stoppers, mercedareacrimestoppers.org or 855-725-2420.

This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 12:59 PM.