Sonoma Valley student arrested on suspicion of making threats

A Sonoma Valley student was arrested Saturday on suspicion of threatening school violence on social media, authorities said.

The student’s name was withheld because of their age, and a news release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office did not state the student’s age, gender or grade.

Sheriff’s violent crimes detectives started investigating the incident Thursday after Sonoma Valley Unified School District officials alerted Sonoma police to a threat of a shooting made against the district’s schools. It was learned that Altimira Middle School was the target of the threat, which had been posted on social media along with a list of students to be targeted, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Parents notified of the posting by their children told school staff, the news release said. Sonoma Valley students are scheduled to return to school March 20 from spring break.

Simultaneous to the investigation, Sonoma Valley Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Kaufman contacted the student who hosted the page where the threat was posted, as well as students on the list of targets. During that process, the Sheriff’s Office said, a student confessed to making the threat. The student was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Juvenile Detention Center on Saturday.

The Sheriff’s Office said there is no remaining concern related to the specific threat, and the student did not have access to any weapons needed to carry it out. The social media page where the threat was posted has been taken down, the Sheriff’s Office said.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay