Parents are on high alert after an online threat was made towards Riverside Polytechnic High School, and now local authorities are conducting an official investigation into the matter.
According to an Instagram post from the Riverside Police Department, investigators are looking into “various social media posts being shared” threatening violence towards the school that surfaced late this week.
A letter sent out to families on Saturday from Riverside Unified School District Superintendent Renee Hill and Poly High School Principal Darel Hansen indicated that the school had “experienced some fights during or near lunch hour” earlier in the week.
Threatening social media posts surfaced following the fights, the administrators’ letter said.
School officials are taking the threat seriously and changing some lunchtime activities to prevent more altercations or disruptions. They are also cooperating with local law enforcement and providing additional support at the school next week.
“Poly High School administration is implementing a plan to restrict lunch activities to designated areas on campus,” the letter read. “These measures aim to improve supervision and mitigate potential disruptions. Restrictions may extend to additional parts of the day.”
Students and parents were asked to not share posts and emails with “secondhand information” since they can delay investigators from discerning which were the original posts.
None of the claims had been substantiated as of 11:30 a.m., police said, but they thanked community members for notifying them and encouraged them to submit any more information they may have.
“Our priority with RUSD has always been to ensure a safe learning environment for all students in Riverside,” the Riverside Police Department said. “We will again have extra officers and patrols in and around Poly High School this Monday to continue those ongoing efforts of maintaining the safety of students and staff.”
Anyone with new information is asked to forward it to Riverside Polytechnic High School Resource Officer Rodriguez at BRodriguez@riverside.ca.gov