LA Schools Closed Down due to ‘Credible Threat’ of Violence

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District have been closed on Tuesday due to what officials are saying is a "credible threat" of violence, several media outlets reported.

The officials revealed there were several backpacks and packages that were left behind at numerous school locations. They will now conduct search operations at all of the schools in the district, which is upwards of 900 campuses. There are at least 700,000 students in the LAUSD.

"I think it's important to take this precaution based on what has happened recently and what has happened in the past," LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said reported by the LA Times.

Steve Zipperman, the LA School Police Chief, added, "The threat is still being analyzed. We have chosen to close our schools today until we can be sure our campuses are safe."

Cortines stated that they receive threats all the time but this one in particular is rare.

"It was not to one school, two schools or three schools, it was many schools, not specifically identified, but there were many schools," Cortines explained reported by The Washington Post. "That's the reason that I took the action that I did."

The officials reportedly received the threat electronically.

All school employees, such as teachers, have been asked to stay away from the campuses. Students who arrived early were supervised before their parents could come and pick them up.

"I want to be very clear we need the cooperation of the whole of Los Angeles today," Steve Zimmer, the LAUSD Board of Education President, said. "We need families and neighbors to work together with our schools and with our employees to make sure that our kids are safe throughout the day. We need employers to show the flexibility that a situation like this demands."

The LA Police Department and the FBI are helping out with the investigation into the threat.

Just two weeks ago, a married radicalized couple - allegedly terrorists - killed 14 people in San Bernardino, which is an hour drive away from LA.