East Side high school rocked by text message scare

The high school, located at 545 N. Camino Seco, is currently under soft lock down, meaning students are going to their classes as usual but won’t be given passes to leave the classroom for any reason, said Principal Sam Giangardella.

Thus far, authorities haven’t found anything to indicate that the messages held any truth and believe it may have been a rumor that got out of hand.

However, it hasn’t stopped school officials and Tucson Unified School District administrators from responding with added school security and three off-duty police officers on campus.

Tucson police are looking into the text messages, Giangardella said.

“We take this seriously,” he said. “We don’t know where it originated but right now we don’t have any issues and I don’t foresee anything happening this afternoon.”

There were a few different text messages going around that claimed there would be a big fight on campus, or a fight after school at a local park, Giangardella said.

Giangardella advises parents not to pull their children out of school if they haven’t done so already.

“The best thing to do is leave them here,” he said. “With the amount of security, this is safer than being out on the street. When the students get out, they should go straight home."