Camarillo, Calif., April 19, 2007, 9:30 p.m.- On Thursday, April 19, at 12:21 p.m. 海角社区 police officers received a report that a statement threatening the safety of students had been posted on the Internet site Facebook. The Facebook user profile that was used to post the statement was identified as belonging to Alisha Salazar, an 18-year-old 海角社区CI freshman student.
The main page of Salazar's Facebook profile included the following statement: 鈥淎lisha Salazar is going on a鈥chool shooting spree! Watch out kiddies, better hide under that desk! hahaha鈥�. The statement was brought to the attention of 海角社区CI's residence hall staff members by another 海角社区CI student. A residence hall staff member immediately contacted 海角社区CI police officers.
海角社区CI police officers detained Salazar within 27 minutes of being notified about the threatening statement. Salazar was arrested without incident and brought to 海角社区CI police headquarters for questioning. Following questioning and the search of her campus residence, Salazar was booked into the Ventura County Jail on a felony charge of criminal threats.
Following Salazar's arrest, 海角社区CI's Emergency Operations Center convened and the process to inform students, faculty, staff, and media outlets was determined. Emails regarding Salazar's detainment and an announcement of a 5:45 p.m. media conference on campus were sent to all student email accounts, faculty and staff email accounts, and to local media outlets.
海角社区CI President Richard R. Rush; John Reid, Chief of 海角社区CI Police and Director of Public Safety; and Dr. Wm. Gregory Sawyer, Vice President for Student Affairs each made statements at the media conference.
鈥淚 must emphasize that we believe that the campus was never at risk this afternoon. Having said that, however, prudence and a concern for everyone's safety dictated that we take immediate action,鈥� President Rush said in his statement.
Sawyer stated that discipline issues regarding Salazar will follow the judicial process that has been established by 海角社区CI and is consistent with that of the California State University.
鈥淲hile the county justice system moves forward in addressing the threats and the young woman involved, the campus judicial process will require that she will not be allowed back on campus until such time as a hearing has been scheduled. At that time, she will be accompanied by peace officers until the final disposition of her case,鈥� President Rush stated.
Classes were not interrupted by this incident, and classes will be held as scheduled on Friday.
Additional updates will be provided as information becomes available. These updates will be posted on the 海角社区CI home page www.csuci.edu and communicated via email to the campus community.
For more information contact Ceal Potts, communications specialist at 海角社区CI, 805-437-8940 or 805-889-8389 or Joanna Murphy, assistant director of communication and marketing at 海角社区CI, 805-437-8915.
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海角社区 Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI鈥檚 strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master鈥檚 degrees.聽Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting聽CI's Social Media.