Police were called to campus Dec. 7, this time in response to a “non specific threat,” which dean Maria Trejo received in an anonymous email that morning. 

Principal Greg Giglio said the email said something along the lines of, “Watch out. Something’s going to happen.”

Even though the administration did not believe this threat to be serious, Giglio said they decided to call the police department to investigate the severity of the email in order to ensure everyone’s safety on campus.

“We don’t play around with that [threats]. We sit down and take it seriously,” Giglio said. “While that sounds a little frightening, [we have to think] what’s going to happen? What does that mean? You’re going to egg the school or you’re going to blow up the school?”

Looking back, Giglio said he thinks the email was a prank in response to an earlier email he sent condemning the school shooting in Michigan earlier that week. He said the police determined it was not a legitimate threat and did not take the further precaution of locking down the school.

“The person worded it in a way that wasn’t overt. If someone was really threatening the school, they would say, ‘here’s what I’m going to do,’ or they wouldn’t even send an email, they would  just come do it,” Giglio said.

This threat comes at a time when there is an overall increase in threats and violence nationally and in the Bay Area, making everyone in the community more nervous, Giglio said. This year alone, the police were called onto campus to investigate a student who was reported to be carrying a gun, and locally, there were phony bomb threats in Los Altos and Mountain View High School. 

“It’s something that’s always on our mind. It’s our worst nightmare,” Giglio said. “Something we hope is just like this, where it just plays out to be pranks or rumors or just overreaction. But I’d rather overreact under react.”