A reported threat at St. Joseph’s High School in Orcutt has been tracked back to a verbal exchange between students. On Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at approximately 7:22 a.m., deputies were dispatched to St. Joseph’s High School when school administrators reported a possible threat they learned about circulating on social media. Deputies assigned to the Santa Maria substation responded to the area along with the Righetti School Resource Deputy.

While deputies worked to determine the source and credibility of the threat, they asked that students be kept off the St. Joseph’s campus and that anyone already on the campus shelter in place. Deputies contacted an involved student at 8:02 a.m. and quickly determined that student was not a danger. As a deputy worked to unravel the background story of the threat, other deputies checked the physical security of the St. Joseph’s and Righetti campuses.

The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District shared timely information with Righetti parents using Parent Square as the Sheriff’s Office shared information on Twitter. Ultimately, deputies determined that the incident that evolved into a reported threat was a verbal exchange between two students that was then inaccurately relayed into a threat of violence on campus.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the parents, students, and faculty for their patience and cooperation as deputies worked to determine the validity of this reported threat.