WOMAN PLUNGING SAN DIEGO TOILET PULLS UP 5 1/2-FOOT SNAKE: SAN DIEGO (AP) — Officials in San Diego are trying to sort out how a 5 1/2-foot snake wound up in a toilet at an office building.

Stephanie Lacsa told San Diego County authorities she noticed the water level in the toilet was higher than usual when she went to the second-floor restroom Tuesday. When she plunged it, a snake popped up and flicked its tongue.

She ran out, taped the door shut and called Animal Services.

The department says an animal control officer found a giant Columbian rainbow boa on the floor. The snake was shedding and slightly underweight.

It was taken to an animal care facility and bit a handler.

If the owner doesn’t show up by Friday, the snake will go to a rescue group.

How it got in the toilet remains a mystery.

TEEN ARRESTED FOR THREATS THAT CLOSED CARLSBAD SCHOOLS: CARLSBAD . (AP) — A 15-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of posting an online threat that led to the closure of two schools in San Diego County.

Police say the teen, a student at Carlsbad High, was taken into custody at her home Tuesday night. Police say the girl, whose name was not released, had neither the means nor the intent to follow through on the threat posted to Instagram on Monday.

School district officials opted to close Carlsbad High and Carlsbad Village Academy on Tuesday out of an abundance of caution. Classes resumed Wednesday.

MAN POSTS LEWD PICTURES ON FAKE FACEBOOK PAGE: SANTA CRUZ  (AP) — A Northern California man is facing charges for creating a fake Facebook page impersonating the police officer who arrested him for possessing child pornography.

He then used the page to distribute lewd material.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that 31-year-old Christopher Schuette was arrested Monday at his home in Santa Cruz after a search turned up child pornography and evidence that he was behind the fake Facebook page.

Schuette was first arrested last January on suspicion of possession of child pornography. He posted bond and was free three days later. Police say he then created the Facebook page under the name of the Santa Cruz police officer who made that January arrest. Officials say then then used the page to distribute more inappropriate pictures of children.

POLICE SEARCH FOR GUNMAN WHO FIRED INTO AIR IN HOLLYWOOD: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police are searching for a gunman who stood on a sidewalk in Hollywood and began firing into the air, sending people scrambling for safety.

Officer Liliana Preciado says nobody was hurt in the shooting that occurred around 2 a.m. Wednesday on Hollywood Boulevard near Cosmo Street.

Sgt. Chad Lewis says a witness told investigators the suspect shot several times into the air and then fled in a vehicle.

Broken glass and shell casings were found at the scene.

POT GROW FOUND AFTER FIRE AT FORMER VALLEJO AUTO SHOP: VALLEJO . (AP) — Firefighters knocked down a two-alarm fire at a former auto repair shop in the San Francisco Bay Area and uncovered an illegal marijuana grow operation.

KTVU reports that fire crews controlled the blaze in about 20 minutes Tuesday night.

No one was injured.

Once the blaze was out crews discovered an illegal marijuana growing operation. It was not immediately known how many plants were found.