El Centro, California - At 6:38 the morning of Monday, March 9, 2020, Southwest High School learned that a possible threat to the school had been posted on SnapChat overnight. An assessment by El Centro Police Department and Central Union High School District determined that the message did not likely represent a credible threat to the safety of our campus.

As of the time of this press release, the El Centro Police Department has no information which leads them to believe the threat is credible. Out of abundance of caution, the El Centro Police Department requested assistance from local law enforcement partners to assist with the investigation. The other agencies that were on campus to preserve order and safety included Imperial County Sheriff’s office, CHP and Probation Department.
 
At approximately 10:45 today, it became necessary to dismiss Southwest High School students due to the overwhelming disruption to the campus that was caused by unsubstantiated information posted on social media websites.  Students were dismissed at 11:00 AM.
 
Later, additional social media posting spread to Central Union High School.  At approximately 12:45 pm today, it became necessary to dismiss Central Union students due to the overwhelming disruption to the campus that was caused by unsubstantiated information posted on social media websites.  Students were dismissed at 1:15 PM.
 
As school officials and law enforcement officers, we understand that the safety of our students is every person's number one concern. It is our first priority as well. We would close school immediately if we believed there were a threat to the safety of our students. 
 
It is important to note that official statements and information to the public concerning any school safety or public safety issue will only come through official school district, police, or law enforcement agency’s messaging systems, websites, and official social media outlets. The public should only rely on these sources for accurate information. 
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To continue to follow this or other ongoing issues, please refer to https://www.cuhsd.net, and the official social media pages of the District and its schools. 

The safety of our students is our first priority and we take this and any similar incidents very seriously.  It is important for students, parents, faculty, and staff to remember that we need their assistance to report any incident(s) involving the safety and security of our schools.  This investigation is continuing with the evidence and information available to law enforcement.  If someone has information which may lead to the identification of the original author of the post, they are encouraged to contact the El Centro Police Department Criminal Investigations Division.