Police presence beefed up at Estancia High after threat made to Costa Mesa campus

Additional police officers on Monday patrolled the Estancia High School campus, after Newport-Mesa Unified School District confirmed a non-credible threat had been made against the Costa Mesa campus, spurring rumors on social media, officials confirmed.

In a message sent Sunday to the school community, district leaders notified parents that the Costa Mesa Police Department had investigated an alleged threat against the school and determined it was not credible.

“Students who were unaware of the outcome of the police investigation recently posted a warning of this unsubstantiated rumor,” the message continued. “Students and staff should feel safe about coming to school tomorrow.”

CMPD spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said she could not comment on the details of the threat, as the incident was still being investigated.

Fyad said additional patrol officers had been sent to the Placentia Avenue campus to support the school resource officer already assigned there. She was unable to provide details on how long the additional support would remain at the school.

While threats against public safety are uncommon at Newport-Mesa Unified, Estancia High School officials were put on alert in December 2019. An image of someone holding a gun was posted on Instagram. Words overlaying the image read, “Tell staff and police, this ain’t no joke. Don’t go to school tomorrow.”

Two individuals were arrested during the investigation of that incident, including a 17-year-old Estancia student and 18-year-old Lenny Vega, who did not attend the school. Both suspects were residents of Costa Mesa.

Although that threat was also deemed not to be credible, CMPD officers reportedly recovered a BB gun that had appeared in the photograph from the home of one of the suspects.

Fyad confirmed Monday the most recent threat was not similar in nature to what happened in 2019, saying the department considers each report on a case-by-case basis.

“Every incident is different and has its own details and facts,” she said.

While NMUSD spokeswoman Annette Franco said she could not provide details on the incident, she did confirm that attendance at Estancia High School Monday was lower than usual.

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