The school day at Lathrop High School was interrupted on Friday after an investigation was launched into comments found in a bathroom stall that indicated a possible threat to the campus.

The investigation determined that the threat was non-credible.

Parents of Lathrop High students were notified via a phone dialer and an email from Principal Greg Leland about the incident and the subsequent investigation conducted by Lathrop Police Services.

“The school administration was informed of a report of writing on the interior of a bathroom stall door, a threat directed toward the school,” the initial email sent by Leland read. “Administration immediately contacted Lathrop Police Services and are working together to investigate the credibility of the information. Please know that students are safely learning and engaged on campus during the active investigation.

“I want to assure you that we take any type of threat seriously and have the full cooperation of Lathrop Police Services.”

The incident was widely discussed on social media channels dedicated to Lathrop and photographs of the alleged scribbles were being widely shared among parents and students – comments that were racist in nature were also included with the threatening message.

Some in the community even turned to local elected officials to try and find out more information and act as a bridge between the public and the district to strengthen the relationship and possibly search for preventative measures that will stop situations like the one that unfolded Friday before they begin.

While law enforcement was present for most of the day on the campus determining whether the threat was valid, school continued as normal while the investigation was underway.

In a follow-up email that announced that the investigation had concluded, Manteca Unified noted that they could not release any more information due to student privacy laws, but affirmed that they would be administering disciplinary action to anyone found to be responsible for actions such as the ones discovered on Friday.

“After thorough investigation of the writing found on the inside of a bathroom stall conducted by Lathrop Police Services, law enforcement determined it was non-credible,” the district’s release read. “At this time, we cannot provide further facts of the investigation or its findings to protect the integrity of the case with respect to student privacy laws.

“School administration will impose strong disciplinary action for those responsible for the disruption of the school day as aligned with California Education Code.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.