Jesuit High School in Carmichael adds patrols as viral school threat makes way around US
A social media post or posts threatening violence at “JHS” or “IHS” on Wednesday went viral, putting high schools starting with those letters across the country on high alert.
That includes Jesuit High School in Carmichael, where administrators in written updates Wednesday said they do not believe there is a specific threat and that the campus will remain open, with added patrols from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
“A number of you have received images or have been told of postings on social media with threats of violence that are alleged to be planned for a school noted on the post as ‘JHS’ for today,” the school wrote in a post to its website Wednesday morning.
Jesuit said it notified the Sheriff’s Office and that law enforcement were working to determine the validity of any threat.
In an update before 9 a.m., Jesuit High said it “received word from the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department by way of Homeland Security and the FBI that similar threats have been occurring throughout multiple states in the country in recent days.”
An internet search for “school threat” Wednesday morning turned up multiple news stories reporting investigations of threats to high schools across the U.S., including in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, almost all of them involving high schools starting with the letter J.
The Carmichael private school noted an arrest has reportedly been made at Jupiter High School in Florida, though it remains unclear if that is where the post originated.
“While this update does provide some comfort, we ask that everyone remain vigilant throughout the day and report any suspicious activity in person or on social media to the school administration or to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department,” the school wrote in its second post.
Jesuit High in its first statement said the threatening post or posts first appeared on Snapchat.
Jesuit says its campus will remain open with normal operations Wednesday, but with an added deputy presence.
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 9:22 AM.
