UPDATE #5: SAN JACINTO: Threat prompts concerns, increased security at MSJC
UPDATE: 12/09/2016 3:51 p.m.
SAN JACINTO – Addressing the concerns of its students, faculty, and other staff members, Mt. San Jacinto College release a second and then third press release through its website.
“Mt. San Jacinto College, the Campus Safety Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are aware of a photograph being circulated on social media of the threat that was written in a bathroom on the San Jacinto Campus. The agencies are investigating all leads at this time. Increased law enforcement presence and patrols are ongoing at all MSJC locations.” (See image of threat below)
It should be noted that Dec. 18 happens to fall on a Sunday and is after the completion of finals, when the school would not be occupied by the majority of students and staff.
“Mt. San Jacinto College, Campus Safety and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are listening to the concerns of students and employees about the threat discovered Monday evening on the San Jacinto Campus,” the press release read.
“In addition to the increased patrols, the Sheriff’s Department also has undercover officers dispatched. This provides an extra level of security during this time. We want to make sure we are providing a safe learning environment for students, employees and visitors.”
The threat was discovered late Dec. 5 in a bathroom on the San Jacinto Campus. College and Riverside County Sheriff’s officials began an immediate investigation. “MSJC and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are committed to the safety of students, employees and visitors. The investigation is ongoing. Classes will continue as scheduled.”
MSJC officials urged students and employees watch their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to MSJC Campus Safety at (951) 639-5188 or to call 911 in an emergency. To make a report anonymously, use the WE TIP hotline at (800) 78-CRIME or (800) 782-7463 or visit www.wetip.com.
MSJC officials also encouraged its students and staff to review an Active Shooter Training that the district offered in Spring.
Mt. San Jacinto College, the Campus Safety Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are aware of a photograph being circulated on social media of the threat that was written in a bathroom on the San Jacinto Campus. The agencies are investigating all leads at this time. Increased law enforcement presence and patrols are ongoing at all MSJC locations.
Anyone with information about the investigation or who wrote the threats should immediately contact Deputy Stoyer at the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at (951) 791-3400 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (800) 950-2444.
Callers can refer to incident file number SJ163400006 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Non-emergency information can also be provided to MSJC Campus Safety at (951) 639-5188.
UPDATE: 12/06/2016 3:51 p.m.
The threats, scrawled across a bathroom wall listed Dec. 18, a Sunday, after finals are scheduled to be over as the day for the supposed attack.
In an anonymous message sent to Riverside County News Source, an unknown person sent a photo image taken with a cellular telephone that showed the threat that was scrawled on a bathroom wall at the Mt. San Jacinto College’s San Jacinto campus.
At the time the message was received, sheriff’s and MSJC campus officials had chosen not to release the specific details of the threat and therefore was not released by this news organization.
A second image was also received by sheriff’s officials and MSJC staff.
Officials announced the image was determined to be a true and accurate depiction of the threat written on the campus bathroom wall.
The second image was confirmed by MSJC college staff in a later press release they issued that showed the image of the threat.
At that time, after MSJC officials released the image of the threat, RCNS made the decision to also release the image containing the specific details of the threat.
The threat read:
December 18th 2016 I will be shooting 12 students 4 teachers then myself
You will fu–ing die
A second image of the same threat was later released by MSJC officials.
It should be noted that Dec. 18 happens to fall on a Sunday and is after the completion of finals, when the school would not be occupied by the majority of students and staff.
Anyone with information about the investigation or who wrote the threats should immediately contact Deputy Stoyer at the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at (951) 791-3400 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (800) 950-2444.
Callers can refer to incident file number SJ163400006 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Non-emergency information can also be provided to MSJC Campus Safety at (951) 639-5188.
ORIGINAL STORY
SAN JACINTO – Sheriff’s officials are investigating after unspecified threats were left inside a bathroom at Mt. San Jacinto College’s San Jacinto campus. The campus is located at 1499 S. State Street in San Jacinto.
With assistance from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, MSJC has increased security across the district and is working with other local law enforcement agencies after one or more threats were received at the college’s San Jacinto campus late Monday, Dec. 5 and early Tuesday, Dec. 6.
“The agencies are actively investigating threats that were scrawled in a bathroom on the San Jacinto Campus,” a press release from MSJC explained. “At this time, to protect the integrity of the investigation, the nature of the threat and its exact location are not being disclosed.”
The campus beefed up their security patrols to ensure the safety of students and employees, according to the press release.
The investigation is ongoing and the sheriff’s department is seeking the public’s assistance and encouraging anyone with information to contact officials, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant James Burton said.
The investigation began Monday evening, about 9:00 p.m., when a Mt. San Jacinto College Campus Safety Officer informed a deputy assigned to the campus that he had located graffiti in a bathroom at the campus.
“The deputy inspected the graffiti and found the wording to be threatening in nature,” Burton explained.
Mt. San Jacinto College, its Campus Safety Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department are taking the threat seriously and have increased patrols and their presence at the campus.
MSJC has urged students, teachers and other campus staff to report any suspicious behavior immediately, or in the event of an emergency to call 911.
“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Mt. San Jacinto College are committed to the safety of the community and will be vigilant in investigating all crimes of this nature,” Burton said.
The threats, which were reportedly scrawled on a bathroom wall, followed the sentencing of Tyrell Brown seven days earlier, Monday 28. Brown pleaded guilty after he allegedly corned and assaulted a female student inside a gender-neutral bathroom at the college’s Menifee campus.
According to court documents and previous statements made by Riverside Sheriff’s officials, Brown blocked the student’s path as she tried to leave the bathroom and instructed her to change into clothing he had brought with him.
“The victim refused to comply with the suspect’s demands and was able to defend herself when the suspect advanced toward her,” Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Burton explained at the time. After successfully defending herself, the victim fled from the bathroom and escaped without injury.
Brown was sentenced to one year in county jail as part of a plea bargain with the District Attorney’s office.
No immediate connection between the two cases has been announced by officials.
Anyone with information about the investigation or who wrote the threats should immediately contact Deputy Stoyer at the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at (951) 791-3400 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (800) 950-2444. Callers can refer to incident file number SJ163400006 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Non-emergency information can also be provided to MSJC Campus Safety at (951) 639-5188.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.