YREKA, Calif. – Yreka Union High School was closed Friday and all school activities for the weekend were canceled.
This comes after an incident earlier this week ended in the arrest of a student.
NBC5 News spoke with the Yreka Union High Superintendent Mark Greenfield Friday. He said there was a potential threat after school on Tuesday, but at no time was there a gun on campus. Friday afternoon, he said the school is now pursuing an expulsion for the student.
Greenfield said the school reported the threat to Yreka police, who arrested the student. He hasn’t returned to campus since Tuesday.
The superintendent said when school officials found out the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office released the student to his parents Thursday, the school consulted with police.
The district ultimately decided to cancel school as well as all school activities Friday.
Greenfield said they were waiting for more communication from the D.A.’s office. He also said there was a police presence on campus Wednesday but that was unrelated to Tuesday’s threat.
After we spoke with Greenfield, the D.A.’s office issued a press release regarding the incident. They stated in part, “After reviewing the entire situation, including extensive follow-up investigation by Yreka PD after consultation with this office, we determined that no felony charges are warranted under existing California law.”
You can read Andrus’ full statement below this article.
District Attorney Kirk Andrus explained that, because the incident involves a juvenile, he can’t lawfully provide details about what occurred. He did, however, reveal no weapon was brought to school grounds and no direct threats have been identified.
According to Andrus, prosecutors are hindered from acting to protect schools against perceived threats. He said the California legislature passed a bill in 2015 that would have given prosecutors more leeway, but it was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown.
“Yesterday’s events represent an anomaly in which some of the tools of government cannot be brought to bear because a governor used his veto power to prevent the intervention,” Andrus stated.
Anyone with information about the events is asked to call the Yreka Police Department.
Yreka Union High School Superintendent said late in the afternoon Friday, they would be pursuing expulsion for the student and addressing the issue as best they can.
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