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Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Police Identify Train Victim as Moorpark High School Student

Authorities say Thursday morning's train incident is related to high school lockdown.

Law enforcement officials have now determined that the series of events that took place Thursday morning in Moorpark are related.

First, a student at Moorpark High School found a threatening note on campus at 8:20 a.m. A 911 call was made from the school and the campus was put on lockdown.

An hour later, a northbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train 761 struck a person about six miles north of the Moorpark train station, according to a spokesperson for Amtrak.

Find out what's happening in Moorparkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lockdown was lifted around 11 a.m. and all students were safely escorted out of the school. 

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released a statement Thursday afternoon stating that the person hit by the train was a 16-year-old student who was "found dead a short time later on nearby railroad tracks after he committed suicide by stepping onto the tracks in front of an oncoming passenger train."

Find out what's happening in Moorparkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Moorpark Unified School District also released a statement Thursday afternoon regarding the lockdown and the loss of one of their students.

"There are no words to adequately express our sorrow upon learning that one of our students took his life today. We are deeply saddened as we all try to understand the events that led to this tragedy. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the student and to all the students and staff members of MUSD who had the opportunity to know him," according to the school's statement.

There were no injuries reported during the school incident, and the school will resume Friday after careful consideration, according to the police department's statement.

Moorpark High School "will have grief counselors available to assist students and faculty members. There will also be an increased law enforcement presence on campus," states the statement. 

-- Patch Community Editor Rebecca Whitnall contributed to this report.

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