Los Angeles schools closure: What we know now
Here's what we know about the Los Angeles Unified School District, which was shut down Tuesday due to a "credible threat."
The decision to close: Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he was told about a threat "to not one school, but to many schools in this school district." He said the threat involved backpacks and other packages, but provided few details. He said he wanted every school searched by day's end so that schools could reopen Wednesday.
Suspect: At this time, no suspect has been identified.
Motive: At this time, no motive has been disclosed.
Enrollment: The district is the second largest in the nation. It has 643,493 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to its website. More than 900 schools and 211 public charter schools are in the district.
Size: The district spans 710 square miles and has more than 4.8 million people living within its boundaries. It encompasses the cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood and San Fernando, among others. A number of other cities — Beverly Hills, Long Beach and and Santa Monica, among others — lay partially within its boundaries.
Superintendent: Cortines, 83, is in his third stint as superintendent of LAUSD. He served as an interim superintendent in 2000, returned in 2009, then again in 2014. An article published last week on the LAUSD website says Cortines wants to retire by the end of this year, though he hasn't publicly announced a date.
Developing in New York: William Bratton, commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said Tuesday that a specific threat was made to New York City schools, but the NYPD classified it as a non-credible terrorist threat.