MBPD finds no suspicious activity on campus

By Lizzy Tsuang

Executive News Editor

Officials from the Manhattan Beach Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have confirmed that the threat posed in the email was not real, as the police department did not find any suspicious materials during the campus-wide investigation, MBPD Sergeant Matt Sabosky said.

Mira Costa principal Dr. Ben Dale stated that although the timeline of this morning’s email threat has passed, MBPD and FBI officials will continue tracing the source of the threat. Two parents have shared information with the police department that may assist the investigation, Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said in an email sent to all parents within the district.

After Dale made the administrative decision to cancel school today due to an email administrators received containing a specific threat, students are now officially allowed back on campus to pick up any material. Sports games and practices will continue as scheduled, and school will be opened on Monday.

There will be extra police presence on all MBUSD campuses throughout the school day on Monday as a precautionary measure, Matthews said.

“We have reacted to all of these threats with great caution, and we believe that has been the correct response,” Matthews said in the email. “This is the unfortunate nature of our world today. We have to walk the fine line of not letting threats impact our way of life, while at the same time acting prudently to keep students and staff out of harm’s way.”

In order to make up the lost class time due to the threats made to the Costa campus today and Monday, Ed Council members will look into solutions. Dale stated that one possible solution is to make up the lost class time by adding two extra days to the school’s calendar at the end of the school year.

“I share the frustration that many of you have expressed at the disruption this has caused our school and our community,” Matthews said in the email. “We lost two days of instruction at the high school last year and now two days this year.  Our students, parents and employees have had to deal with uncertainty and no small amount of stress.”