# Los Angeles Closes 900 Schools Today Because of Terrorist Threat **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547 "2015-12-15T17:40:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/21 "2015-12-15T20:45:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > \ I got nothin then. 😉 > > Star Wars premiere is all over todays news. Didn’t bother reading the articles because I don’t care. Hey, someone else who’s willing to admit that! 😛 Anyway, I also heard on CNN that the e-mail contained “a pornographic reference to a body part” (most likely the phrase “suck my dick”) which also made it highly unlikely to come from ISIS or any related organization. It’s possible that the LA message contained some specific information that we don’t know about which spooked them enough to cancel school for the day. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/22 "2015-12-15T21:52:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Anyway, I also heard on CNN that the e-mail contained “a pornographic reference to a body part” (most likely the phrase “suck my dick”) which also made it highly unlikely to come from ISIS or any related organization. ISIS don’t got dicks??? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/23 "2015-12-15T22:06:17Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Did the warning come from a guy named Simon? You beat me to it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/24 "2015-12-15T23:04:49Z")
The linked article is now saying the threat was a hoax. Doesn’t make it any less criminal, of course. My guess is L.A.'s feeling a bit jittery after last week’s attack. Can’t blame 'em for overreacting. > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Did the warning come from a guy named Simon? > > > [@Grumman](#): > > > > You beat me to it. 🙂 I don’t get it…what’s the reference? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/25 "2015-12-15T23:24:33Z")
My mother-in-law, who is a retired teacher, thinks new york didn’t cancel school because they had 3 fewer hours to react to the warning…I have no clue about how plausible that is since I couldn’t be bothered to read the article either. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/26 "2015-12-15T23:26:34Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I don’t get it…what’s the reference? _Die Hard 3_. The villain uses a number of bombs, including the threat of one hidden inside one of New York’s schools, to distract the police while he robs an international bank on Wall Street. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/27 "2015-12-15T23:45:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The NY police commissioner said there were errors in the email that indicated it wasn’t a true jihadist, like spelling the word Allah with a lowercase “a”. [“Does this look like ‘gub’ or ‘gun’?”](http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/224555/Take-the-Money-and-Run-Movie-Clip-Gub.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/28 "2015-12-15T23:48:18Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > My mother-in-law, who is a retired teacher, thinks new york didn’t cancel school because they had 3 fewer hours to react to the warning…I have no clue about how plausible that is since I couldn’t be bothered to read the article either. I believe in New York the kids were already in school by the time the threat was received. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/29 "2015-12-15T23:55:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The first time a threat is ignored and a bomb goes off, there _will_ be leaks to the press, and the lawsuits that follow will cripple the local government at the very least. What if it becomes an everyday sort of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/30 "2015-12-16T00:14:31Z")
Has a bomb threat ever resulted in discovery of a real bomb? [The email came from cockmail.](http://gawker.com/bicoastal-school-bomb-threats-sent-from-8chan-linked-c-1748175650) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/31 "2015-12-16T00:22:11Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Has a bomb threat ever resulted in discovery of a real bomb? [Here’s one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodburn_Bank_Bombing) from 2008 near Portland, OR. A teller at a bank got a phone call warning them to get out or they’d be killed. They called police who did a sweep and initially found nothing, but a suspicious package was later found just outside the bank. A bomb expert thought it was a fake, but it exploded when he was examining it. Two people were killed and a few more injured. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/32 "2015-12-16T00:30:00Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Has a bomb threat ever resulted in discovery of a real bomb? > > [The email came from cockmail.](http://gawker.com/bicoastal-school-bomb-threats-sent-from-8chan-linked-c-1748175650) The IRA often phoned in warnings before they set off a bomb. The Weathermen, too. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/33 "2015-12-16T01:44:04Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Hey, someone else who’s willing to admit that! 😛 Yeah, you’ve really gotta scour the depths of the SDMB to find people “willing to admit” to not caring about elements of culture that are wildly popular amongst normal people. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/34 "2015-12-16T01:59:17Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > ISIS don’t got dicks??? :eek: Yes, it’s true. This man has no dick. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/35 "2015-12-16T14:09:50Z")
I saw a Post story the NYC got the same threat and dismissed it as a hoax. My theory is that their thinking was, “Fuck the kids. There are way too many of them clogging up the streets anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/36 "2015-12-16T14:23:24Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Did the warning come from a guy named Simon? He didn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/37 "2015-12-17T02:39:55Z")
Here was the threat: > [@](#): > > ``` > TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: > > I am emailing you to inform you of the happenings on Tuesday, 12/15/15. > > Something big is going down. Something very big. It will make national headlines. Perhaps, even international ones. You see, my last 4 years here at one of the district high schools has been absolute hell. Pure, unmitigated, agony. The bullying, the loneliness, the rejection... it is never-ending. And for what? Just because I'm 'different'? > > No. No more. I am a devout Muslim, and was once against violence, but I have teamed up with a local jihadist cell as it is the only way I'll be able to accomplish my massacre the correct way. I would not be able to do it alone. Me, and my 32 comrades, will die tomorrow in the name of Allah. Every school in the L.A. Unified district is being targeted. We have bombs hidden in lockers already at several schools. They are strategically placed and are meant to crumble the foundations of the very buildings that monger so much hate and discrimination. They are pressure cooker bombs, hidden in backpacks around the schools. They are loaded with 20 lbs. of gunpowder, for maximum damage. They will be detonated via Cell Phone. Not only are there bombs, but there are nerve gas agents set to go off at a specific time: during lunch hour. To top it off, my brothers in Allah and I have Kalashnikov rifles, Glock 18 Machine pistols, and multiple handheld grenades. The students at every school in the L.A. Unified district will be massacred, mercilessly. And there is nothing you can do to stop it. > > If you do end up trying to, by perhaps, beefing up security, or canceling classes for the day, it won't matter. Your security will not be able to stop us. We are an army of Allah. If you cancel classes, the bombings will take place regardless, and we will bring our guns to the streets and offices of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, and San Diego. > > I wish you the best luck. It is time to pray to allah, as this may be your last day. > > ``` > > * * * > **[Full text of threatening email sent to LAUSD](https://abc7.com/lausd-closure-situation-buses-called-back-threat/1124880/)** > > See the full text of the threatening email directed toward the Los Angeles Unified School District that led to the closing of all district schools on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Evil_Prince_Zorte)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/38 "2015-12-18T17:49:35Z")
I can’t imagine that the 15 year old who wrote that will be able to resist bragging to somebody, or dropping enough hints that eventually everyone in their school knows who did it. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/39 "2015-12-18T18:36:30Z")
Does anyone here think this sounds like a believable threat? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547/40 "2015-12-19T02:46:07Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Does anyone here think this sounds like a believable threat? See Post #16. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/los-angeles-closes-900-schools-today-because-of-terrorist-threat/740547.md?page=1)