Families and staff at Sycamore Elementary School were greeted Tuesday morning by a police presence after school officials found graffiti on three different parent/teacher conference sign up sheets posted at the school.

According to an email sent out by Sycamore Principal Amy Stanger, the writing on the sheets included comments like, “I am going to shoot up the school” and “I am going to shoot up the school in seven days.” 

Claremont Unified School District administrators and the Claremont Police Department investigated and determined that the graffiti was not a credible threat. Claremont police officers and CUSD Human Resources Superintendent Kevin Ward were on campus before school Tuesday morning, along with reporters from local news television stations. Sycamore parents, guardians and caregivers were notified of the incident on Monday through Ms. Stanger’s email.

“We do not intend to share this threat with our students as we do not want to cause them concern,” Ms. Stanger wrote. “However, district administrators and Claremont Police Officers will be visible on campus throughout the day [on Tuesday]. We welcome you to continue with your regular routines for drop-off, volunteering and pick-up.”

Additional information has not yet been released by the police or the school but the principal reassures the Sycamore community that all precautions are being taken to ensure the safety of staff and students.

“At this point, I cannot give specific details about the investigation and why the graffiti was not deemed a credible threat,” Ms. Stanger wrote. “We will be having a meeting with CPD, and I will share another message with you following that meeting. I hope to be able to give additional details at that time. Though I can’t answer tonight how long we will have a police presence, I am confident CPD will be present as needed.”

—Kathryn Dunn

editor@claremont-courier.com