Students and teachers arrived at Lynbrooke High School in San Jose Thursday morning to see a graffiti message threatening the life of a teacher at Monta Vista High in Cupertino. As a result, Monta Vista and nearby Lincoln Elementary were shut down.
The threat is being taken very seriously. Officials say there really is no explanation as to why the graffiti, found in San Jose, mentioned a bomb in Cupertino. There are some rivalries between the schools, but they're in the same school district.
Police and students say the graffiti found at Lynbroook around 6:40 a.m. Thursday crossed a frightening line.
"It's a pretty big deal even as a prank because, first of all, there was a name involved, a teacher's name," Monta Vista student Jun Kim said.
The spray painted message included the name of the intended target in Cupertino and also said a bomb was planted at Monta Vista to kill him.
"That's the shocking part because he is one of the nicest teachers at our school, so kind of shocking, "Monta Vista student Ahmit Dhingra said.
Sky 7 HD showed the activity in Cupertino Thursday morning as Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies shut down Monta Vista High School and nearby Lincoln Elementary School. Though three bomb sniffing dogs and a room-by-room search of the high school campus did not turn up any explosive device, both schools were closed for the entire day.
Neighbors say they support the response by law enforcement, "No, when they go over the edge like that, like Columbine and some of these other, you know, we've had several," school neighbor Bob Vitro said. "That's not a prank. That's a very serious matter when you talk about blowing up people."
Investigators with the sheriff's office aren't taking any chances when it comes to the teacher's safety.
"We have a couple of deputies that are staying with the teacher and his family at this point to provide their protection," said Lt. Rick Sung.
Students say they wouldn't be surprised if the teacher is not in class tomorrow.
"He always had a picture of his kids and they were so cute and he's such a family man, really family oriented," Monta Vista student Celine Mol said.
Whether the person responsible for the graffiti ever intended to act on their threat, the damage has been done.
"It's like yelling fire in a crowded theater, like mass disruption," Lynbrook student Josha Huang said.
Both schools in Cupertino will reopen Friday with extra deputies patrolling. Sheriff investigators say they are following up leads to identify a suspect. The person responsible for the bomb scare could face felony charges.
