Crime & Safety
Police Beefed Up at RSM Schools, Questioned Student
In the week following the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, a local eighth-grader attracted unwanted attention with a social media post, and there was an increased police presence at local schools.
Less than a week after the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., an eighth-grade student at Rancho Santa Margarita attracted plenty of attention with a post on social media.
According to Lt. Brian Schmutz, chief of police services for Rancho Santa Margarita, the youngster posted “an imaginative story that involved widespread war” on Instagram.
“There was no specific threat and nothing pertaining to a school environment,” Schmutz said.
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Still deputies were called upon on Thursday morning to confer with the student, his parents and school administrators. The school determined there was no threat to the school or to students.
Unrelated to the incident at RSM Intermediate, Schmutz said that in order to ensure a sense of calm prior to the Winter break, police services posted an additional deputy at schools last week.
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Normally, there is only one child services officer on duty who facilitates a number of different functions, including the investigation of bullying and other student- and teacher-related concerns, and checking on area sex offenders.
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