‘Credible threat’ closes California school through Friday

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Southern California’s Mater Dei High School will be closed through Friday after the discovery of a “credible threat” of violence, administrators said Tuesday.

Details regarding the nature of the threat against the Santa Ana campus and how it came to the school’s attention were not immediately released, the Orange County Register reported. Administrators consulted with police and were advised that the threats were potentially legitimate, school officials said.

“We wouldn’t close the school for several days if this appeared to be a hoax,” said Allison Bergeron, Mater Dei’s director of communications. “We are doing this to make sure our kids are safe and law enforcement has enough time to conduct their investigation.”

Santa Ana police officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Register.

Department chairs were developing online education options while the campus is closed, the school said.

The closure will occur during the last week of campus instruction and one week before finals, the newspaper reported.

It comes a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

More than 2,000 students attend Mater Dei High.