Two threats were made this week against Cedar Ridge High School, continuing a trend following multiple other incidents throughout 2019.

A Friday evening release from the Orange County School District and Orange County Sheriff’s Office said a student on Thursday reported that there was a threat written on the floor of the gymnasium.

“The vandal specified he or she would engage in gun violence on November 14,” the release said.

Another threat “appeared in a bathroom stall on Monday,” according to the release.

The threat on Thursday caused the school to go into a soft lockdown, according to Friday’s information.

This comes after a threat was written in the stall of a bathroom at the school in May. That led to the discovery that multiple threats against the school had gone unreported after the former principal and school resource officer were aware of the incidents but did not take the matter “any further.”

A Cedar Ridge High School student – 18-year-old Dylan George – was also arrested last month after sending a classmate a text threatening to “shoot up the school,” according to the sheriff’s office.

George is currently under the supervision of the Pretrial Release Program after he was held for one week in the Orange County Detention Center, Friday’s release said.

“As I’ve said before, threats to school safety are incredibly dangerous, disruptive, and anxiety producing,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said Friday. “We must assess each threat with consistency and diligence while keeping the protection of the school community as our top priority. We know young people do impulsive things and sometimes exhibit poor judgment. In an ideal world, a student who made such a threat might be served best through counseling and discipline. However, our community’s need for safety creates a reality where instead, a student making such a threat could face potentially life-changing criminal charges.”

Orange County Schools hired Monique Felder to take over as the district superintendent this fall. She said Friday:

“We are taking these threats seriously and are actively working with the Orange County Sheriff ‘s Department to ensure the safety of all students by increasing security measures on the Cedar Ridge High School campus. My top priority is the safety of students, staff, and our community. Moving forward, we will continue to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to help students understand the consequences of school threats, while also ensuring our families and students know about the social, emotional and mental health support systems we have in place.”

There will be increased security measures enacted at the school all next week, officials said Friday.

A $2,500 reward has been authorized for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who made either threat this week, according to the release. Students are encouraged to contact the school resource officer or a school administrator if they have information.

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