Sebastopol police investigate shooting threat at West County High School

Sebastopol police Tuesday were investigating a potential shooting threat made on social media Monday evening against West County High School.

Chief Kevin Kilgore declined to discuss the details of the ongoing investigation Tuesday, but said his department did not consider the threat to be credible.

Students were already in class Tuesday morning when Toni Beal, superintendent of the West Sonoma County Union High School District, notified parents of the threat and the investigation.

“In an abundance of caution, there is a strong police presence on and near campus today,” her message read. “I realize that this is unnerving for staff, students and families, but we felt it was important to get this information to you so that you know we are aware.”

Beal did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday.

The threat was posted on Instagram, Beal and Kilgore said. Sebastopol police were first alerted at 6:30 p.m. Monday, and the school district is continuing to assist police, Kilgore said.

A screenshot of the post, published in a temporary Instagram story on an account called analyteatime, is circulating on social media. The account appeared to have been deleted by Tuesday morning.

“There were indications this was something likely trying to elicit an effort to have classes canceled,” Kilgore said.

Part of the Instagram post identified a person by first name who “is gonna shoot up the school,” the screenshot shows. But another line on the post reads, “If y’all report this you could legit get a day off,” accompanied by a laughing emoji.

“We take these threats of violence seriously whether they were intended as serious or a prank,” Kilgore said.

No arrests have been made, Kilgore said. Anyone identified as making a threat, whether true or false, could be arrested on criminal charges, he said.

Anyone with information about the threat is asked to contact Sebastopol police at 707-829-4400.

Beal encouraged parents to direct their questions to West County High School at 707-824-2319 or 707-824-2314.

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.