Student, 14, arrested in Occidental school threat hoax

A 14-year-old Harmony Union School District student has been arrested for writing threatening graffiti on a bathroom wall that put the Occidental campus on lockdown Monday, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

The student has confessed to the incident, and authorities believe he meant no harm and did not have the means to hurt anyone.

The arrest, announced Thursday, follows an investigation by sheriff’s deputies and school staff into the Monday morning hoax - one of at least a half dozen at Sonoma County schools since 17 students and adults were gunned down at a Florida high school Feb. 14.

Both of Harmony District’s two adjacent campuses on Bohemian Highway - Harmony Elementary School for K-1 students, and Salmon Creek School, for grades 2-8 - were locked down.

Afterward, parents picked their kids up.

The 14-year-old remains at home with his parents, who assisted in the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

The matter will be referred to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Juvenile Division for potential criminal charges, the sheriff’s office said, in addition to school staff decding their own discipline..

-Mary Callahan