Orcutt Schools Threatened Twice in Same Week

Schools in Orcutt, an unincorporated town in the Santa Maria Valley, faced two unrelated threats in the same week, one of which turned out to be credible. 

On August 21, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office investigated a threat posted on social media directed at Orcutt Academy High School. The school contacted authorities that evening after a student posted a video on TikTok threatening to carry out a school shooting on Monday, August 24.

According to an August 22 news release from the Sheriff’s Office, deputies “immediately began investigating and were able to identify and locate the source of the post, a male juvenile in the Orcutt area.” 

However, after contacting the juvenile and his parents, deputies determined that “he did not have the means to carry out the threat.” Deputies wrapped up the investigation, and the case was forwarded to Santa Barbara County Juvenile Probation for consideration of criminal charges. 

Only four days later, the Sheriff’s Office announced it had “thwarted” a separate school threat in Orcutt and recovered two explosive devices during a multi-day investigation involving a different juvenile. 

The investigation began on August 18, “when deputies received a report that a male juvenile had made concerning statements about harming others,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. 

Authorities with the Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Sciences Unit (BSU) and Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) assessed the potential threat over the following days, including reviewing the juvenile’s online activity and conducting a search of his family’s residence.

In addition to locating the explosives, deputies “identified an online connection between the juvenile and another juvenile in Illinois who appeared to share similar concerning interests,” the Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Sheriff’s Office said it notified Illinois law enforcement of the online connection and it was investigated by the appropriate local agency, which determined the juvenile did not present an actionable threat. 

In Orcutt, CIT worked with the juvenile, his family, and health care providers to connect him to the right intervention services, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Administrators at the juvenile’s school were notified. In this case, the Sheriff’s Office noted, intervention occurred before school safety protocols were necessary.

Because this investigation involves a juvenile, identifying information is protected by law and will not be released, the Sheriff’s Office said. The investigation remains ongoing. 

Santa Barbara County’s K-12 schools have faced threats before — including an Orcutt elementary school being the target of a 2019 bomb threat extortion scheme — but has never seen a school shooting or bomb threat carried out. The Santa Barbara Grand Jury did a report on the topic this year, concluding the probability of shooting is extremely low, but not zero, and suggesting different safety measures schools can implement to prevent such a tragedy. 

The Sheriff’s Office used the recent Orcutt incidents to remind the community it “takes all reports of threats involving schools seriously and appreciates those who promptly report concerning statements or behavior.” 

“Anyone who encounters a social media post or other online content threatening violence should preserve the information when possible and immediately report it to law enforcement or a trusted school official rather than sharing it further,” it said.