Hours after police responded to a threat of violence at Marin high schools Friday morning, education officials announced that “all schools are declared safe.”
Tamalpais Union High School District had abruptly shut down all five of its campuses as a safety measure after receiving “a threat of violence” Friday morning, according to a district-wide announcement. Those included Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo, Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, and Redwood, San Andreas, and Tamiscal high schools in Larkspur.
But after 1 p.m. the coast was clear, the district said in a statement.
“Our law enforcement partners with Central Marin Police Authority and Mill Valley Police Department have completed thorough sweeps of our campuses and no threats were found,” the emailed statement said.
The district had urgently warned its roughly 5,000 students to stay home after getting a threatening text at 7:30 a.m. “The threat did not specify a target site,” read the announcement. “Please remain home or return home if you are already on campus or in transit.”
The district said its safety measures were effective and thanked staff, parents, and students for cooperating.
“Consistent with established safety protocols, school administration immediately evacuated all buildings on all five district campuses and contacted local law enforcement to secure all sites, investigate the credibility of the threat, and to consult regarding the next steps in order to ensure the safety of our entire school community,” District Superintendent Tara Taupier said in a statement.
A Mill Valley Police Department official told The Standard that all of its officers had been dispatched on the “high priority call” this morning. The Central Marin Police Authority, which has jurisdiction in Larkspur and and San Anselmo, also investigated, a spokesperson said.
The school district said in a Thursday afternoon announcement that graffiti written on butcher paper was found attached to a wall at Tamalpais High School displaying “anti-Black and anti-Jewish hate speech” — including the “n-word” and a swastika. The district said it was investigating when the graffiti was created but could not confirm whether there was a connection to Friday’s threat.
“I’m sure my kid’s happy about not having to go to school,” said Ari Kanter, a parent of a sophomore at Tamalpais High School. “He didn’t seem very concerned. If anything, he’s more worried about football practice.”