Home WebMail Saturday, November 2, 2024, 12:32 PM | Calgary | -0.8°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2015-12-16T01:08:00Z | Updated: 2015-12-16T22:52:04Z

The anonymous email that sparked a shutdown of the entire Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday was routed via an email server by the name of "cock.li," a barebones service that hosts a number of explicit domains.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I am emailing you to inform you of the happenings on Tuesday, 12/15/15.
Something big is going down. Something very big. It will make national headlines. Perhaps, even international ones. You see, my last 4 years here at one of the district high schools has been absolute hell. Pure, unmitigated, agony. The bullying, the loneliness, the rejection... it is never-ending. And for what? Just because I'm 'different'?

No. No more. I am a devout Muslim, and was once against violence, but I have teamed up with a local jihadist cell as it is the only way I'll be able to accomplish my massacre the correct way. I would not be able to do it alone. Me, and my 32 comrades, will die tomorrow in the name of Allah. Every school in the L.A. Unified district is being targeted. We have bombs hidden in lockers already at several schools. They are strategically placed and are meant to crumble the foundations of the very buildings that monger so much hate and discrimination. They are pressure cooker bombs, hidden in backpacks around the schools. They are loaded with 20 lbs. of gunpowder, for maximum damage. They will be detonated via Cell Phone. Not only are there bombs, but there are nerve gas agents set to go off at a specific time: during lunch hour. To top it off, my brothers in Allah and I have Kalashnikov rifles, Glock 18 Machine pistols, and multiple handheld grenades. The students at every school in the L.A. Unified district will be massacred, mercilessly. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.

If you do end up trying to, by perhaps, beefing up security, or canceling classes for the day, it won't matter. Your security will not be able to stop us. We are an army of Allah. If you cancel classes, the bombings will take place regardless, and we will bring our guns to the streets and offices of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, and San Diego.

I wish you the best luck. It is time to pray to allah, as this may be your last day.

The New York City school district received a similar -- if not the same -- email, and while Mayor Bill de Blasio dismissed it as "generic," "outlandish" and generally not credible, the New York Police Department has nonetheless subpoenaed Vincent Canfield, who manages the web service, to provide information about the related account.

Canfield was quick to post media from his interactions with the NYPD online, including an audio clip in which a sergeant concedes that this clause at the end of the subpoena -- "No report or segment thereof may be released to any media sources" -- is a "request, not an order."

A copy of the subpoena itself soon followed on a Twitter account bearing Canfield's name:

The person behind the #LAUSD threats used cock.li to do it. Threatened NYC SD as well. https://t.co/vy8WYTw0kI pic.twitter.com/WOZr2Zy0Z7

Vincent Canfield (@gexcolo) December 15, 2015","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Vincent Canfield","author_url":"https://twitter.com/gexcolo","cache_age":86400,"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Vincent Canfield on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/gexcolo/statuses/676810418791297024","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"567098b1e4b0648fe30172b5","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/email-shut-down-los-angeles-schools_n_567098b1e4b0648fe30172b5","entryTagsList":"lausd,los-angeles-schools,los-angeles-unified-school-district,la-school-closed,@genassign,@health_adhd,@health_depression,@health_erectile,@health_gad,@health_hiv,@health_ht,@health_ibs,@health_models,@health_ost,@health_pain","sectionSlug":"crime","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"education,technology","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.crime","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"567098b1e4b0648fe30172b5","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"lausd","slug":"lausd","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/lausd","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/lausd","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/lausd"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/lausd"},{"name":"los angeles schools","slug":"los-angeles-schools","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/los-angeles-schools","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/los-angeles-schools","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/los-angeles-schools"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Los Angeles","slug":"los-angeles","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/los-angeles"},{"name":"los angeles unified school district","slug":"los-angeles-unified-school-district","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/los-angeles-unified-school-district","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/los-angeles-unified-school-district","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/los-angeles-unified-school-district"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Los Angeles","slug":"los-angeles","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/los-angeles"},{"name":"la school closed","slug":"la-school-closed","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/la-school-closed","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/la-school-closed","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/la-school-closed"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Los Angeles","slug":"los-angeles","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/los-angeles"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

The person behind the #LAUSD threats used cock.li to do it. Threatened NYC SD as well. https://t.co/vy8WYTw0kI pic.twitter.com/WOZr2Zy0Z7

Vincent Canfield (@gexcolo) December 15, 2015

In tweets posted after the subpoena was issued, Canfield distanced himself from whoever sent the email, which allegedly came from one of the 63,260 accounts cock.li claims to have.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

"I have no sympathy with the attacker," Canfield wrote , "but if a few emails from my meme email provider can shut down your [school district], that's an administration problem."

Back in Los Angeles, district Superintendent Ramon Cortines defended the decision to cancel school Tuesday.

"Its due to circumstances in neighboring San Bernardino I as superintendent am not going to take the chance with the life of a student," Cortines said.

This article has been updated to include the full text of the hoax email.