Investigation of online threat continues

Costa Mesa police are continuing to investigate a TeWinkle Middle School student who allegedly posted an online death threat against a classmate last month.

The Internet discussion page led to many suspensions on the campus of the Costa Mesa school.

Bob Metz, the school district’s assistant superintendent, would not comment Thursday about whether the student will be expelled.

“The investigation is moving forward,” Metz said.

On Feb. 16, police and school officials found a discussion group on the website Myspace.com that allegedly threatened a girl who attends the school. Afterward, administrators identified 20 students pictured on the site, including the host and contacted their parents.

A parent provided printouts of the Myspace.com postings for a story in Tuesday’s Daily Pilot. The printouts showed a forum page that contained a violent and anti-Semitic comment, allegedly posted by the student-host, about a girl, threatening to shoot her in the head “over thousands of times.” The page, which has since been taken down, did not reveal her last name or say she was a TeWinkle student, but school officials said they are certain of her identity.

“Of course after Columbine, police really took all these kind of things very seriously, because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Costa Mesa Sgt. Marty Carver.

Police investigators are still deciding whether the boy’s post was a threat, Carver said.

If investigators decide the student’s actions were criminal, they will refer the case to the juvenile probation department, Carver said. Juvenile probation would then present charges to the Orange County District attorney’s office, Carver said.

Susan Schroeder, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said Thursday she could not comment on anything having to do with a juvenile case.