An email “threat” forced the closure of all public schools in Los Angeles Tuesday, while a similar “threat” was sent to officials in New York City which was quickly deemed a hoax.
The two largest school systems in the U.S. received an email threat early Tuesday, warning of a large-scale jihadi attack.
In Los Angeles, the threat was sent to school board members, while authorities in New York said they also received a “generic” email, and decided there was no threat to schoolkids.
READ MORE: Emailed threats to N.Y., L.A. highlight worries schools face
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio concluded the threat contained “nothing credible.”
“It was so outlandish,” he said.
Back in Los Angeles, officials decided to take precautions by giving close to 640,000 students the day off as all public schools were ordered closed.
“We have suffered too many school shootings in America to ignore these kinds of threats,” Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference Tuesday.
The decision to close the schools came just weeks after Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at a holiday gathering in nearby San Bernardino, California.
READ MORE: NY, LA schools receive same email threat; LA cancels classes, but NYC calls it a hoax
The anonymous writer claimed to be a student at a district high school who had been bullied. The person also claimed to be a jihadist but made errors that suggested the writer was really a prankster, including spelling the word “Allah” with a lowercase “a” and making no reference to the Quran.
Tuesday’s email has now been made public after being obtained by ABC News in Los Angeles.
I am emailing you to inform you of the happenings on Tuesday, 12/15/15.
Something big is going down. Something very big. It will make national headlines. Perhaps, even international ones. You see, my last 4 years here at one of the district high schools has been absolute hell. Pure, unmitigated, agony. The bullying, the loneliness, the rejection… it is never-ending. And for what? Just because I’m ‘different’?
No. No more. I am a devout Muslim, and was once against violence, but I have teamed up with a local jihadist cell as it is the only way I’ll be able to accomplish my massacre the correct way. I would not be able to do it alone. Me, and my 32 comrades, will die tomorrow in the name of Allah. Every school in the L.A. Unified district is being targeted. We have bombs hidden in lockers already at several schools. They are strategically placed and are meant to crumble the foundations of the very buildings that monger so much hate and discrimination. They are pressure cooker bombs, hidden in backpacks around the schools. They are loaded with 20 lbs. of gunpowder, for maximum damage. They will be detonated via Cell Phone. Not only are there bombs, but there are nerve gas agents set to go off at a specific time: during lunch hour. To top it off, my brothers in Allah and I have Kalashnikov rifles, Glock 18 Machine pistols, and multiple handheld grenades. The students at every school in the L.A. Unified district will be massacred, mercilessly. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.
If you do end up trying to, by perhaps, beefing up security, or canceling classes for the day, it won’t matter. Your security will not be able to stop us. We are an army of Allah. If you cancel classes, the bombings will take place regardless, and we will bring our guns to the streets and offices of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, and San Diego.
I wish you the best luck. It is time to pray to allah, as this may be your last day.
–with files from The Associated Press
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