Cupertino schools reopen after threats to teacher

CUPERTINO, Calif. (KGO) -- Parents in Cupertino are not only dealing with the emotions brought on by the Newtown tragedy, but they are struggling with a very personal and ugly attack at one of their own schools.

For parents at Lincoln Elementary School in Cupertino it was anything but a normal Monday.

"We all feel very distressed," parent Stephane Hauradou said.

The anxiety stems from both the tragedy in Connecticut and a shaken sense of security close to home. School administrators found graffiti bomb threats on Thursday against a teacher at Monta Vista High School. The discovery shut down the high school campus and nearby Lincoln Elementary.

We didn't get into the details of why it was shut down for him; the older yes, but not him," Hauradou said.

Parents say the timing of the bomb scare gave them an extra reason to shield their younger children from the horrific events in Newtown.

"We didn't talk to our youngest son, he's 5 years old, would have been much too much for him because he already thought there was a bomb in the school, he just assumed it," parent Mabhu Ganger said.

Sheriff's deputies worked around the clock on Friday to make an arrest in the graffiti case. Before that they were providing the teacher and his family with personal protection.

Students at Monta Vista say the teacher specifically named in the bomb threat returned to class Monday.

Students say it's important that everyone be able to return to a routine.

"The principal came in and she said don't really pester him because he just wants to feel normal again," Barnett Chen said.

Some students think the national tragedy may have prompted a confession from the suspect in Cupertino.

"I think the Connecticut shootings make people realize that life is kinda like comes and goes in a way and you shouldn't be joking about someone else's life," Mane Mikayelyan said.

The 16-year-old student in custody for the bomb scare faces felony charges but as a minor will be protected in the juvenile justice system.

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crime, cupertino, south bay news, karina rusk

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