Fortuna Police Department release: 

On Wednesday, October 18th 2023 Fortuna Police received a report that Fortuna Middle School staff discovered a written threat written on an exterior school wall threatening to “blow up the school on 10-19-23.”

Officers responded to the school and began working with school officials to investigate the threat.

A safety plan was put into place for school on today’s date, October 19th 2023. Fortuna Middle School Administrators sent notice to parents, and officers conducted searches of the school campus throughout the night and before school. Fortuna Police were present on campus before school and during the school day. In addition, the school campus was secured and arriving students were searched prior to entering the school grounds.

Throughout the school day, the Fortuna Police Department’s School Resource Officer and school staff continued to investigate the identity of the student responsible for the written threat and they eventually identified the culprit using CCTV footage. The student who wrote the threat on the school wall was taken into custody by Fortuna Police after providing a confession to school administrators. The student was transported to and booked at the Humboldt County Juvenile Hall. The student faces felony charges of section 422 of the California Penal Code - Criminal Threats.

As a follow-up effort, officers conducted a search of the student’s residence and no further evidence was located.

It should be noted, during the evening of October 18th 2023 after the schools parental notice was released, the department received reports of the same threat being circulated through social media and students. During the investigation it was determined that there was no evidence to suggest that the student arrested was responsible for the social media portion of the threat. This determination was made as police confirmed that the arrested student had no access to the proper electronic devices needed to spread such a threat.

The Fortuna Police Department is committed to public safety.