UPDATE, 1:11 p.m.: Press release from the Fortuna Police Department:
On Monday morning, May 13, 2019 Fortuna Police Department received phone calls from parents of Fortuna High School students reporting a concerning image circulating on a social media app., SnapChat. The message indicated a potential threat to an unspecified school in an unspecified area. Officers immediately began investigating.
Following the initial reports from parents, The Fortuna Police Department received an anonymous phone call, identifying an individual who they believed sent the Snapchat message and indicating the individual was headed to Fortuna High School.
Based off the facts that the SnapChat message was received by Fortuna High School students and the anonymous caller identified a subject as the sender and reported the subject was in route to Fortuna High School the Fortuna Police Department requested a lock-down at Fortuna High School as a precautionary measure while continuing to investigate.
The Fortuna Police Department received assistance from Rio Dell and Ferndale Police Departments.
The alleged sender was located and detained at a residence in Rio Dell. A Fortuna Police Department Detective investigated and found no credible threat associated with the subject and that the SnapChat message was only reposted by the subject. The lock-down was lifted and Fortuna Police Department Detective is continuing to investigate the origin of the SnapChat message.
The Fortuna Police Department and Fortuna High School take the safety and security of students and school staff very seriously.
We remind our community that it is important to let us know anytime that a message of this nature is received so that a potential tragedy can be prevented.This case remains under investigation, any further information will be released to the public as it becomes available to us.
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UPDATE, 10:28 a.m.: Several parents have noted on Facebook that this morning’s lockdown at Fortuna High School was prompted by a Snapchat photo a rifle.
We’ve been sent a copy of this photo, which shows (what looks to our novice eyes like) an assault rifle with a scope and several magazines on the backseat of an automobile with the caption “getting ready for school.”
We’ve edited the photo to black out a Bitmoji in case it made the post identifiable.
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UPDATE, 8:58 a.m.: A new message from FPD was just sent out:
The lockdown at Fortuna High has been lifted.
Additionally, in response to a parent’s inquiry on Facebook, FPD notes that “school will resume as normal.”
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Original Post: Readers inform the Outpost that Fortuna High School is currently on lockdown. At 8:42 a.m. the Fortuna Police Department sent out the following message:
Fortuna High School is currently on lockdown as a precautionary measure. There is no active or direct threat to students. We will provide further at a later time.
We will update when we know more.