EL CAJON (CNS) - An East County eighth-grader was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of making an online threat of violence targeting El Cajon Valley High School, authorities reported.
The menacing message, posted anonymously on Burnbook.com about 12:30 a.m., prompted a heightened police presence at the East Madison Avenue campus. No problems were reported as of late Wednesday afternoon.
Using "a variety of investigative techniques," detectives tracked down the alleged perpetrator, who attends a nearby middle school, El Cajon police Lt. Randy Soulard said.
The student, whose identity was withheld, was arrested and booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of issuing a criminal threat.
"The eighth-grader had no known connection to the high school, and police do not believe there was any actual danger to anyone at either school," the lieutenant said.
Burnbook, a popular cellphone application, has "evolved into a method to spread rumors, engage in cyber-bullying and make threats to others," according to Soulard. He added, however, that the operators of the website "were fully cooperative with law enforcement during this investigation."
"The El Cajon Police Department would like to remind the community that we take any threat to a school campus very seriously," Soulard said.