One arrested in Clovis High threat

CLOVIS — Threats of violence centered on Clovis High School late Thursday and Friday, with police arresting a 17-year-old male student in connection with a social media post.

The series of incidents began at 11:21 p.m. Thursday when police were alerted to a photo on the social media site Snapchat.

The photo depicted the student holding what appeared to be a rifle with the captions “F*** CHS I’m going out with a bang” and “don’t go to school tmrw.”

Police said they located the juvenile in the photo and interviewed him.

“During the interview, the juvenile confirmed the picture was of him, but relayed that he did not post the captions to the post. As the interview continued, the juvenile ultimately stated he did create a portion of one of the captions, ‘F*** CHS,’” according to a police news release.

The unidentified student was charged with the “delinquent act of aggravated assault on a school employee,” police said.

Clovis High parents were notified of the threat via email from CHS Principal Jay Brady early Friday morning.

Brady’s email read: “At approximately 11:45 p.m. (Thursday), Clovis Municipal Schools was made aware of a threat being made towards Clovis High School. Clovis Police Department has been made aware of the situation and are investigating the matter. Students and parents are encouraged to report any information concerning the threat to Clovis Police Department.”

Classes began as usual at Clovis schools, but a school lockdown was implemented late in the morning after a telephone threat was received at the high school.

A school news release, also sent to parents via email and text message, read in part:

“Despite the arrest of an individual in reference to a school threat early Friday morning, Clovis High School received a phone call that caused additional concerns. The phone threat is under investigation and unsubstantiated at this time.

“In an abundance of caution, Clovis High School has been placed on a Level 1 Lockdown, which means all doors are locked and classes continue as normal.”

Officials said they closely monitored activity on school grounds throughout the day.

Superintendent Jody Balch said the phone call was not a threat to the school. Instead, somebody in Arkansas contacted Clovis police after seeing a Facebook post referencing the threat against CHS.

Balch said his understanding was the person who made the post noted somebody was arrested and “we’re coming to finish the job,” or something to that sentiment.

Balch said no violence actually occured at CHS on Friday and Brady told him that the incidents did not significantly affect attendance, with about 15 to 20 students fewer in school than the typical Friday.

Capt. Roman Romero declined to answer whether or not there is a second suspect in connection with the social media post, replying via email, “We are still investigating this incident.”

Romero said the juvenile was taken into custody around 6:22 a.m Friday.

— Editor David Stevens and Staff Writer Jamie Cushman contributed to this report.