Shooting threat against Tacoma students causes classroom switch

A threat to shoot students at Tacoma’s School of the Arts led to the closure of two classrooms Friday and kept those students on modified lockdown.

Police were notified overnight about a man who posted the threats on social media about 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

“A former student posted a threat on a Facebook page and indicated he intended to come to the school and attack other students,” Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel said Friday.

The former student indicated he was upset about comments posted anonymously on a cellphone app.

Police are investigating.

In the meantime, the University of Washington Tacoma closed two classrooms on its downtown campus used by School of the Arts students, spokesman Michael Wark said.

The students were moved to different classrooms in the district for their mentorship group day, where they meet with teacher mentors and work on special projects.

Their classrooms were placed on modified lockdown, which means the exterior doors are locked and access is monitored, Voelpel said.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 8:28 AM with the headline "Shooting threat against Tacoma students causes classroom switch."