12-year-old arrested for threatening Visalia school, police say

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 12-year-old has been arrested after police say they threatened schools in Visalia.

In the last 24 hours, the Visalia Police Department has investigated two separate school threats in the Visalia Unified School District.

One at La Joya Middle school was unfounded and the other at Green Acres Middle School was more serious.

"The Green Acres threat was investigated by our youth services division and they deemed that threat to be credible. Therefore they made an arrest with a 12 year old student and he was booked at the juvenile detention facility," said Visalia Police Captain Andy Swarthout.

The Visalia Police Department and Visalia Unified School District depend on students, staff, and parents to notify them about any threats.

Officials say that is how 99% of their threats are discovered.

Within the last month, Visalia police have also made two other arrests.

That includes a student from Ridgeview Middle School, who had a firearm and threatened violence against the school in an online video.

At Golden West High School, a student was arrested after a picture of them with a firearm was posted online.

"These types of situations are taken very seriously and unfortunately once you say something you can't take it back," explained Visalia Unified Assistant Superintendent Andy Di Meo.

So, it's important to be very thoughtful about the things you do."

The Visalia Police Department works closely with the Visalia Unified School District.

They say these threats can lead to criminal charges for students and in some cases the parents too.

"To make a school threat is a felony. 422 of the California penal code, which is criminal threats," explained Cpt. Swarthout.

Visalia police say their reports are handed off to the Tulare County District Attorney's Office to work on the legal consequences.

Visalia Unified encourages their families to stay connected and have open conversations with their students.

"It's important for them to understand that actions on social media have significant life altering consequences. So our families need to recognize that if a child does something that action could lead to decisions that are gonna be taken away from them," urged Di Meo.

The school district says there are always resources available for their families.

This includes social workers on campus, school counselors and making sure staff receives the training on how to handle these situations.

To submit an anonymous tip to the Visalia Police Department, click here.

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