STOCKTON — There will be an increased police presence at Bear Creek High School today after a man threatened to carry out a Columbine-style shooting on campus, police and school officials said.

Principal Bill Atterberry said a student’s father called the school Thursday afternoon and issued the threat. Atterberry said he could not determine if the threat was credible, but he contacted police and notified parents of the situation.

“This parent called threatening to unleash something like what happened at Columbine,” Atterberry said, referring to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, in which two students killed 12 fellow students and one teacher and wounded 21 others before taking their own lives. “My job is not to determine whether it’s a credible threat. There are too many weird things happening in this world to make that determination. We really have to leave it up to parents to decide what’s best for their children.”

Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department, confirmed that authorities are aware of the threat.

“The Stockton Police Department received information from Bear Creek High School that a parent called (Thursday) and threatened the school,” Silva said. “We are currently investigating this claim of a threat and will have extra police presence at the school in the morning.”

Atterberry said police went to the disgruntled parent’s home on Thursday, but the man was not found.

“If police find this guy before school starts tomorrow, I’ll send another message out to parents to let them know,” Atterberry said.

Atterberry said the added police presence would ensure students’ safety, but he wouldn’t fault parents who choose not to send their children to school.

“It will probably be the safest place in Stockton for the kids to be, but if parents want to keep their children home, that’s certainly their choice,” he said. “My job is just to give them the facts.”

Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or janderson@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/crimeblog and on Twitter @Stockton911.