Colo. school district closed over 'threat of significant violence'

(Reuters) - Officials in a small Colorado school district outside of Denver canceled classes on Monday, citing a "threat of significant violence."

Ellicott School District 22 said in statements on its website and Facebook page that it was working with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office to investigate the threat. "Threats such as these are taken very seriously," it said.

Threats to schools and school districts in the United States are fairly common, and often turn out to be hoaxes. In December, officials for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the nation, hastily canceled classes across the entire school district after receiving a threat that was later deemed to be a hoax.

The school system in the city of Ellicott, some 70 miles southeast of downtown Denver, includes a pre-school as well as an elementary, middle and high school.

Further details and specifics on the threat were not immediately provided by district officials.

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