Principal Elise Simmons had contacted police and interviewed individuals possibly responsible
Two students discovered a graffiti message alluding to a potential threat was reported in a girls restroom at Santa Barbara High School on Wednesday morning.
“We immediately investigated the situation and after carefully reviewing the information throughout the day, we determined this evening that the graffiti message does not pose any risk to the safety of students or staff,” wrote Santa Barbara High principal Elise Simmons Wednesday via ParentSquare, an app through which parents and guardians can receive notifications about their children’s schools.
According to Dr. Simmon’s statement, she contacted the Santa Barbara Police Department and conducted a threat assessment, interviewing witnesses of the graffiti and possible folks responsible.
“I believe it important to share this information with families and students because it was seen by other students and may have caused alarm,” Dr. Simmons said. “As you know, threats of school violence are disruptive to students, staff, families and utilize significant public resources. We teach our students that ‘if you see something, to please say something’ and we ask that of our parents as well.”
As of press time, Dr. Simmons did not respond to questions sent by the News-Press via email. When asked about the context of the message and what it said, the Santa Barbara Unified School District spokesperson declined to disclose the information.
The incident occurred a day before the high school’s back to school night.
Anyone with information can contact the police department at 805-882-8900 or provide information anonymously with the code “sbhsdons” at appweb.stopitssolutions.com/login/
