In the past week, three incidents involving social media threats against schools have been reported in the Orcutt and Santa Maria areas.
Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick said reports like these are not uncommon, particularly around this time of the school year.
Its not infrequent. Its a thing that happens during back-to-school time, Zick said. I think that these are timely reminders and warnings to the public that we want you guys to engage with your students, with your kids, and be aware of whats going on in their world.
In one case, sheriff’s officials say deputies stopped a potential school threat after recovering two explosive devices from a juveniles home in Orcutt.
The investigation began on Tuesday, Aug. 18, after deputies received a report that a male juvenile had made concerning statements about harming others.
Deputies searched the boys home on Aug. 22 and discovered the explosives, according to the sheriffs office.
They were legitimate devices that were disarmed by our… rendered safe by our bomb squad, Zick said.
Investigators also discovered an online connection between the juvenile in the Orcutt area and another juvenile in Illinois. However, authorities determined there was no actionable threat associated with that connection.
Because investigators identified and contained the potential threat early, the sheriffs office did not recommend that schools activate emergency safety protocols, Zick said.
Also this week, sheriff’s deputies investigated a social media threat against Orcutt Academy High School, and police were investigating a threat against Santa Maria High School.
Zick encouraged parents, educators and community members to pay attention when a young person makes comments that appear unusual or concerning.
Theres not going to be a dictionary of words that we want people to look for, Zick said. I think everybody has a very good barometer of what is concerning, what is out of the ordinary, what is an odd thing that somebody said. Those are always worth bringing to somebodys attention and kind of flagging for follow-up.
Behavioral wellness professionals say maintaining an open line of communication with children can make it easier for young people to speak up when something is wrong.
Suzanne Grimmesey with Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness said parents can start by building a relationship in which their children feel comfortable sharing concerns.
Some of the foundation to that is having a relationship with your child that you can check with them, you can stay connected, you can share if you have a worry or concern. All of those things keep you connected so your child is comfortable sharing, Grimmesey said.
Zick also acknowledged that monitoring teenagers online activity can be difficult for parents, but said conversations about online safety are important.
As a mother myself of teens, I can tell you it is very difficult to monitor their online activity, Zick said. But really, having important conversations with your kids about online safety is key.
The sheriffs office is encouraging anyone who sees or hears a potential threat to report it to local law enforcement rather than sharing or spreading the information online.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office also shared resources to prevent mass violence.