Second student suspended

Danette Goulet

CORONA DEL MAR - A second student has been suspended from Corona del

Mar High School as police and school officials investigate an accusation

that the student at the school made threats.

It is the second suspension and one of many rumors at the school

following the shooting at Santana High School in Santeelast week.

A seventh-grade student was suspended from the school on Thursday

after drawing a picture of a teacher with an arrow through it. On Friday,

officials heard reports of a second student allegedly making threats.

The student has been sent home until they can determine what the truth

is, said Supt. Robert Barbot.

No further details were given as both school officials and police are

still investigating the allegations.

Barbot and Principal Gary Norton, said they deal with these

accusations on a case-by-case basis.

“What we do is deal with the facts rather than the rumor,” Barbot

said. “We do check into [all accusations], but we also hold people

accountable if they make accusations that are not true.”

Since the shooting, frantic calls have been made to police and

district officials from teachers, parents and even school board members

who have heard all kinds of rumors of guns and threats of violence on the

campus.

“We’re getting a lot of inquiries because of what has taken place and

we take every one of them seriously and do our best to determine if they

are credible,” said Sgt. Steve Shulman of the Newport Beach Police

Department.

While Norton said he has not had a deluge of calls, he plans to talk

to teachers on Friday about the concerns that have been raised on campus.

“We have not had a gun on campus to the best of our knowledge,” he

assured.

Officials said they would continue to deal with any concerns calmly

and on an individual basis.

The hope is to keep schools safe and avoid mass-hysteria like that

which spread among Aliso Niguel High School students over the weekend. On

Monday, about two-thirds of the school stayed home following alleged

e-mail threats of a student shooting up the campus.

Both police and district officials say that every case will be taken

seriously and investigated thoroughly.