PETALUMA -- Petaluma Police Working With Federal Authorities On MySpace Death Threats

Petaluma police are working with federal authorities on the investigation of the 17-year-old boy who allegedly made death threats against Petaluma High School students via another student's MySpace account.

The FBI and the Secret Service are involved in the investigation, Petaluma police Sgt. Matthew Stapleton said today.

The suspect was in New York state when he accessed the passwords to MySpace accounts, hacked into the Petaluma student's account and then posted messages that said violence like that at Virginia Tech, in which 33 people were killed last month, would occur at the school Wednesday.

Petaluma police determined the suspect claimed the threats were a prank that he had no intention of carrying out the violence. It's estimated 300 students learned of the threat and more than half of the students stayed home or left school early Wednesday.

"We're still mapping out plans as to who this investigation will rest with. It's possible it won't be Sonoma County. It will be a joint decision," Stapleton said.

The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office is in contact with police about the investigation, Stapleton said.