A private high school in a Los Angeles suburb was shut down Friday after threats posted to social media -- an action that may have been sparked by an Instagram post from former NFL player Jonathan Martin.
Students at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City received an alert before school began Friday stating the school was closed. Los Angeles police spokesperson Tony Kway told USA TODAY Sports that officers from the department’s North Hollywood division responded to the school “after an Instagram post by a former student who is now an adult.”
Kway said the department was unable to publicly confirm that Martin’s Instagram stories post was what caused the shutdown.
“When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide or revenge,” Martin wrote in a photo posted to his verified Instagram account. He used the hashtags #HarvardWestlake and #Miami Dolphins.
Martin has been taken into police custody, according to multiple reports.
Drake Madison, another LAPD spokesman, told USA TODAY Sports the individual who made the threatening social media post had been detained.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Madison said.
Martin attended Harvard-Westlake before playing at Stanford and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. In 2013, he accused then-Dolphins teammate Richie Incognito of bullying, leading to Incognito's suspension.
Martin tagged Incognito and another former Dolphins teammate (Mike Poucey) in the post. He also tagged James Dunleavy, who attended Harvard-Westlake and was a walk-on basketball player at USC.
The shutdown of Harvard-Westlake comes a week after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla.
