Manhattan Beach’s Mira Costa High School will be closed for a second day Wednesday in response to another anonymous online threat, according to superintendent Mike Matthews Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} .
The latest threat was made at 10 a.m. Tuesday when someone posted, "If you go to Costa you should watch out very closely on Wednesday."
Matthews said the school would re-open Thursday with an increased police presence. Staff members will return to campus Wednesday to prepare for the arrival of students.
The school was closed Tuesday after a string of threats, including one that warned people at the school to "watch out."
Mira Costa High School was placed on lockdown Monday after a student discovered the message on anonymous social media website Yik Yak, which said, "If you go to Costa you should watch out very closely at school today."
Students and parents were notified while Manhattan Beach Police Department officers and school officials investigated the threat, though nothing was found. Later in the afternoon a second message was posted which said, "Nice try costa, today was just a drill."
Manhattan Beach police confirmed to NBC4 that two other posts Monday evening also referenced the school.
One posted at 8:31 p.m. said, "Almost every school shooter has left 'warnings' before they committed their crimes that everyone ignored... it's something to take seriously just remember that'
About 15 minutes later, another posted said, "Apparently there is a third threat... 'Tomorrow at 2. be ready, Costa. You're going on lockdown.'"
The school was initially going to remain open but late Monday the school's principle Ben Dale, in consultation with Manahattan Beach Unified School District superintendent Dr. Mike Matthews, decided to shut down the school on Tuesday.
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"My priority one is the safety of students.... we have teaching and learning going on in these classrooms every day, diligently, and so there is always a concern for that and making sure that our instructional program continues. But all that comes to a screeching halt when we feel the safety of our students is in jeopardy in any way." Dale said.
A decision will be made Tuesday afternoon on whether the school will reopen on Wednesday.
So far, no arrests have been made, though the investigation into the threats is ongoing.
It is not the first time a threat made through Yik Yak has affected Southern California. Back in March San Clemente High School in Orange County was on lockdown for four hours after a hoax bomb threat was posted through it.
