All public schools in Los Angeles closed over unspecified threat

All schools in Los Angeles, the second largest school district in the United States, were closed December 15, 2015 after officials reported receiving an unspecified threat to the district and ordered a search of all schools in the city. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn/Files

All public schools in the Los Angeles area have been ordered closed after an emailed threat targeted students.

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The shooting in nearby San Bernardino that left 14 people dead this month influenced the decision to close all the schools, which 640,000 students attend, Superintendent Ramon Cortines said.

A law enforcement official said the threat was emailed to a school board member late on Monday and appeared to come from overseas.

Officials would not elaborate on the threat, saying it was still being evaluated, but said the shutdown came as a precaution.

Schools would remain closed until the threat was cleared, which could happen by the end of Tuesday.

Los Angeles schools commonly get threats, but Mr Cortines called this one rare.

He said: "It was not to one school, two schools or three schools.

"It was many schools, not specifically identified. But there were many schools. That's the reason I took the action that I did ... It was to students at schools."

Mr Cortines said he wants every campus to be searched and a report given to him and the school board that they are safe.

The district has more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

Mr Cortines said the district police chief informed him about the threat shortly after 5am.

He added: "He shared with me that some of the details talked about backpacks, talked about other packages."

No students would be released on their own, and school leaders would wait with children whose parents had not yet arrived to pick them up, he said.

The closure came the same day classes were cancelled at San Bernardino Valley College because of a bomb threat.

Students and staff were sent home around 5.30pm on Monday after the threat was made.

Meanwhile, New York City officials said they received the same threat that led to the closure of the Los Angeles schools but quickly concluded that it was a hoax.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he was "absolutely convinced" there was no danger to schoolchildren in New York.

New York Police commissioner William Bratton said he thought the Los Angeles officials overreacted by deciding to close the nation's second-largest school system.

He said a school superintendent received the threatening email on Tuesday morning. The person who wrote the note claimed to be a jihadist but made errors that made it clear the person was a prankster, he added.