A 47-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in the South Lake Tahoe area in connection with a threat made on Monday against an elementary school in Petaluma, which led to that school being evacuated.
We learned late Monday that a school in Petaluma, Penngrove Elementary School, was evacuated due to a threat, and the school district's superintendent then announced that Penngrove and another school would both be closed Tuesday due to the threat.
As the Chronicle reports, Esmeralda Mondragón, acting superintendent for Petaluma City Schools, announced Monday that both Penngrove and Kenilworth Junior High School would be closed Tuesday due to "a threat that was made today by an adult toward Penngrove Elementary." The closure of Kenilworth Junior High was due to some connection between the individual and that school, but not a direct threat.
The suspect was later identified as 47-year-old Kevin Harrington of Santa Rosa. As KPIX reports, Harrington was arrested in Douglas County, Nevada, near South Lake Tahoe, and booked into the Douglas County Jail. He was booked on suspicion of making felony criminal threats and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Harrington was located and arrested with the help of South Lake Tahoe Police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
It's unclear what the nature of or motive for the threat was, or what, if any, connection Harrington has to the elementary school.
The threat on Monday led to a lockdown at Penngrove Elementary, and parents were then called to pick up their children at 1:30 pm at a nearby fire station, after the school was evacuated.
Harrington is being held on $500,000 bail, and is awaiting extradition back to Sonoma County.