Online threats prompt closure of Pierce County high school

Clover Park High School in Lakewood, Pierce County, closed today after threats were made online against at least two dozen current and former students.

Lakewood police received a 911 call at 9:30 last night from a student who had received one of the threats.

The message, sent through MySpace.com, said that everyone at the school would die today so the sender would never be treated badly again, said Dave Guttu, Lakewood police information officer.

The sender, unknown to at least some of the e-mail recipients, had an image of a bomb with a lit fuse on his Web-site profile that read, "Clover Park will pay."

Clover Park staff members searched the school Thursday night and again this morning, discovering nothing.

Police were still trying to track down all the students who received the message. Most were current students, but at least one graduated four years ago, Guttu said.

The police worked with Myspace.com to identify the Internet provider that the sender used and were attempting to locate where the sender lives.

The school will likely reopen Monday, Guttu said.

Kayla Webley: 206-464-2391 or kwebley@seattletimes.com