Someone threatened to bring a gun to Scripps Ranch middle school: police

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- According to San Diego Police, an investigation took place Tuesday at a local middle school after someone threatened to bring a gun to campus.

After a deeper look, investigators say it turns out that threat -- directed at Marshall Middle School in Scripps Ranch -- was not credible. Still, some parents didn’t want to take any chances and took their children out of school for the remainder of the day.

Alex Qureshi was seen taking his 13-year-old daughter home early because of a threat that was allegedly made by a student on the popular social media platform known as Snapchat.

On Tuesday morning, the principal sent an email to parents saying the student who created the post threatened to bring a gun and warned other students not to come to class.

San Diego Police immediately investigated and determined that it was not a credible threat.

"Even if its fake, I'd rather basically just pull her off for a day or two," Qureshi said regarding his daughter's attendance of school amid the threat.

Over the past few months, there have been several threats at local schools, including the South Bay. Although deemed by investigators as not credible, Chula Vista police did arrest a 12-year-old middle school student for allegedly texting a threat that was shared on social media.

Dr. Scott Poland, a professor at the College of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, has also written several books about crisis situations at schools. He said in most cases, students who make threats have no intention of actually carrying them out.

"For some students, it might be a little more planned," he explained, noting that the students making the threats are generally trying to disrupt something or be funny to get attention from their peers.

Dr. Poland also said some students don’t realize the severe legal consequences from making these types of threats.

“Parents need to have that conversation with their children -- about in todays world that there are some things you don’t joke about and let's talk about what those are,” he explained further.

Dr. Poland suggested that parents monitor their child’s smartphone, especially if they have social media profiles.

As far as the recent threat at Marshall Middle School, campus police have now taken over the investigation. So far, it's still unclear if they have identified the person who made that post.