The LAUSD received a "credible threat" of violence that forced school officials to close all campuses on Tuesday as authorities investigated the email message, while officials in New York deemed a similar threat not credible.
Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Ramon Cortines said school officials made the call to cancel classes after receiving an email threat that reportedly discussed backpacks and packages
left on public school properties, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I think it's important to take this precaution based on what has happened recently and what has happened in the past," Cortines said, alluding the the recent San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack that killed 14 people earlier this month.
The LAUSD is the second-largest in the country and law enforcement officials were combing its 900-plus campuses on Tuesday, according to the Times.
Cortines said he consulted with Los Angeles School Police Department Chief Steven Zipperman and school board president Steve Zimmer before school officials made the closure call so the
buildings could be searched, KTLA-TV reported.
"I've asked the plant managers to walk the school, and if they see anything that is out of order to contact the police," the superintendent said.
Zipperman told CNN that the district received an "electronic threat" early Tuesday and that the threat was "still being analyzed." The IP address was reportedly traced to Frankfurt, Germany, but law enforcement officials said the suspect could have "masked their location," the Times noted.
A similar threat in New York Tuesday was
not found to be credible, The New York Times reported.
"These threats are made to promote fear . . . we can not allow us to raise the levels of fear," New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton tweeted.
"Our schools are safe," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, according to The Times. "Kids should be in school today. We will be vigilant. But we are absolutely convinced our schools are safe."
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