Full Notification

PRESS RELEASE

Sep 16, 2016

SUBJECT: Assistance Provided Investigating Internet Threats
CONTACT: Teresa Pry, Tel. (209)736-2567 /[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Angels Camp Police Department assisted Bret Harte High School staff with two incidents in the last couple of days. The first incident began last Monday, 09/12/16, and involved a student that created an anonymous public "Instagram" internet page. The page was created under the tag line "anonamis_BH," with a profile picture that included the "Guy Fawkes" mask that is commonly associated with the well known activist group, "Anonymous." The page included vague references to "the coming storm," and other dark references that can be interpreted as somewhat threatening.

This was a public internet page that could be viewed by anyone, and numerous requests were sent to various students to join the page. Within a few hours of the creation of the page its existence was reported to school administration, who immediately reported it to the police department. The page was monitored for a couple of days, and as other students viewed the page and its contents, additional reports began coming in from concerned parents and students.

On Wednesday, 09/14, word-of-mouth reports began to come in to school administration related to the existence of text messages, and /or other social media messaging applications, that allegedly made reference to a gun being present on campus. The police were immediately notified and assisted with an investigation into the matter. After interviewing numerous students and staff, no evidence of any instant messaging application referencing a gun, or any other specific threat, could be identified. It appears that the concerns, while understandable, were exaggerated due to the existence of the "anonamis_BH" Instagram page and its contents. The student responsible for creating the "anonamis_BH" Instagram was identified and interviewed, and appropriate administrative action was taken by high school staff.

On Thursday, 09/15 a second incident occurred, reported as involving a student using the internet and an instant messaging application to make threats. This incident was also jointly investigated by the police department and Bret Harte High School administrative staff. This incident involved a student that shared a "hit list" that he created with some friends. After a thorough investigation that included interviewing numerous students, including the student that created the "hit list," it was determined that there was no credible criminal threat.

Parents and students are cautioned to closely monitor internet activity. While the internet is a powerful and valuable tool, it is important to have the understanding that information communicated on the internet can have long term consequences. While seemingly harmless and private, threats can be considered criminal and have long term consequences.

We appreciate the students that came forward and provided needed information to resolve these cases, and we appreciate the professional relationship that we have with the staff at Bret Harte High School.


###