California school shooting plot foiled, assault rifles found

[plagueshard801]

A security officer overheard a student threaten to open fire at his Southern California high school, allowing officials to thwart the plot just days after a deadly shooting in Florida, authorities said Wednesday.

The 17-year-old student at El Camino High School near the city of Whittier was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, and his adult brother was arrested on five weapons charges after two assault rifles, 90 high-capacity magazines and other handguns were found in their home.

A security officer on Friday heard the teen "say that he was going to shoot up the school sometime in the next three weeks," Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said at a news conference.

The school reported the teen, and deputies found an assault rifle at the home registered to his 28-year-old Army veteran brother and another that was not registered, which is a felony in California, McDonnell said.

The sheriff said the brother is facing charges of possession of an assault weapon and other violations and that the teen had an extensive disciplinary history at school.

School threats have been increasing in the area since a shooting last week at a Florida high school killed 17 people, McDonnell said, adding that "this should be a wake-up call for all of us."

School district security officer Marino Chavez told reporters that when he heard the threat, he asked the student about it, and the teen confirmed that he made it but was just kidding and didn't mean it. Chavez told the student he could not say such things at school.

Robert Jacobsen, general counsel for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, said the teen didn't like a teacher's rule banning headphones in class but declined to provide further details about him, citing privacy issues.

"They felt there was enough there that they should call law enforcement so they can investigate further," Jacobsen said. "In this day and age, we have to be proactive and make that report and go from there."

He said the safety of students and staff is the highest priority.

"Given shootings that happened in Florida, and we hear about quite a few of them, we're all looking to make sure we can prevent these concerns and find out what's going on," he said.

Superintendent Hasmik Danielian said in a statement that "we responded quickly and effectively when we first learned about the potentially dangerous threat that was made by the student."

"We will remain vigilant in our efforts to make sure that we are doing everything possible when it comes to safety and security for our entire school community," she said.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/a...arted-53235363

Glad to see one got stopped by the authorities.

[StayTuned]

Nothingburger.

There was literally no plot anywhere. Police found weapons in a US home. Wow.

[RaoBurning]

Nothingburger.

There was literally no plot anywhere. Police found weapons in a US home. Wow.

You did read the part where the kid admitted to making the threat, right? "It's just a joke, bro" isn't a valid defense for these kinds of threats, especially with the ridiculous amount of hardware he had access to to backup the threat.

Here, I'll even help:

School district security officer Marino Chavez told reporters that when he heard the threat, he asked the student about it, and the teen confirmed that he made it but was just kidding and didn't mean it. Chavez told the student he could not say such things at school.

[szechuan]

You did read the part where the kid admitted to making the threat, right? "It's just a joke, bro" isn't a valid defense for these kinds of threats, especially with the ridiculous amount of hardware he had access to to backup the threat.

Here, I'll even help:

So essentially he screwed his brother over because he was making a prank. *facepalm*

The school reported the teen, and deputies found an assault rifle at the home registered to his 28-year-old Army veteran brother and another that was not registered, which is a felony in California, McDonnell said.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

So what happens to the kid now?

[StayTuned]

You did read the part where the kid admitted to making the threat, right? "It's just a joke, bro" isn't a valid defense for these kinds of threats, especially with the ridiculous amount of hardware he had access to to backup the threat.

Here, I'll even help:

Bleh I hated my school when I was 13 and made these "threats" every other day. Do you even have the slightest idea what a plot is?

Also nothing ridiculous about his arsenal. Sounds just about right for the average home.

[Saucexorzski]

How did our current lax gun control laws stop this school shooting from happening?!?

[RaoBurning]

Bleh I hated my school when I was 13 and made these "threats" every other day. Do you even have the slightest idea what a plot is?

Also nothing ridiculous about his arsenal. Sounds just about right for the average home.

I work in a junior high, and if I heard any of my kids making these kinds of threats I'd report them, too. "Kill people in the next 3 weeks" is enough of a plot in my book.

- - - Updated - - -

So essentially he screwed his brother over because he was making a prank. *facepalm*

Well, if his brother didn't have an unregistered weapon he would have been fine, so my sympathies are diminished.

[StayTuned]

I work in a junior high, and if I heard any of my kids making these kinds of threats I'd report them, too. "Kill people in the next 3 weeks" is enough of a plot in my book.

Is it nation bashing if I say that this is because you live in the USA?

20 years ago and in Germany nobody would have given a shit about that kind of a threat. I don't really know how the atmosphere nowadays is in German junior high equivalents, but I don't think it changed that drastically.

I mean I'm not saying that the kid could not have potentially done it for real. But claiming that anything got stopped by your authorities is stupid as hell. Nothing and nobody is stopping him from still doing it as soon as he gets the chance to. Unless he's been jailed for multiple decades already for just uttering a threat and... having weapons in the USA...

[Sunseeker]

Bleh I hated my school when I was 13 and made these "threats" every other day. Do you even have the slightest idea what a plot is?

Also nothing ridiculous about his arsenal. Sounds just about right for the average home.

Sure you did Captain Toughguy.

[StayTuned]

Sure you did Captain Toughguy.

Yea no 13 years old ever told their mobbers that he's gonna kill them.

This never happened.

[Draco-Onis]

Don't worry with the cuts Betsy Devos and Donald Trump are making to public school funding that security guard will not be there next time.

[Lochton]

At least they got it handled. Doesn't matter if a joke or not, the events has been too often that you can't just shrug of jokes of this nature.

[Majinbull]

USA gets slammed for not stopping Florida shooting. This guy slams USA because in his eye's athorities didn't prevent anything today. This individual is one fine troll.

[StayTuned]

USA gets slammed for not stopping Florida shooting. This guy slams USA because in his eye's athorities didn't prevent anything today. This individual is one fine troll.

Says Mr Evasion Account Guy.

suspicion of making criminal threats

What the usual sentence for that if found guilty? Life?

[Vankrys]

Bleh I hated my school when I was 13 and made these "threats" every other day. Do you even have the slightest idea what a plot is?

Also nothing ridiculous about his arsenal. Sounds just about right for the average home.

In the current context, a kid threaten to shoot his school AND...
The police found assault rifle at the kid's home.

I mean seriously, that is enough to give parent a heart attack. We live in a world where is is currently a mass shooting every other day
http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting

Florida shooting is fresh in the mind of all americans. That story is definitely not nothing burger. That story just freeze the blood of hundred of parents.

[RaoBurning]

Is it nation bashing if I say that this is because you live in the USA?

Not at all, I'd say. Our love affair with gun violence is pretty unique among developed nations, and those of us in the crosshairs can get a little testy, sometimes. I didn't read your location at first, so I read your "it's no big deal" attitude as more dismissal of the real potential violence than just coming from a different cultural lens where stuff like this doesn't actually happen with any kind of regularity.

Apologies if I came off extra snippy. I've been a bit more on edge than usual since Parkland. We suspended (maybe expelled. I don't have the admin data handy) a student at my school the other week for bringing live ammo on campus, so the dismissal of the Parkland survivor's outcry has made me pretty pissy.

20 years ago and in Germany nobody would have given a shit about that kind of a threat. I don't really know how the atmosphere nowadays is in German junior high equivalents, but I don't think it changed that drastically.

I'd say this rings true for my experience when I was in junior high, too. We were just coming off Columbine, but I don't think any of us really thought it was every going to be a common place sort of thing. Then 9/11 happened and the focus on school violence (in my circles, at least) fell to the wayside. Though we did have an extraordinary number of bomb threats my first 2 years in high school, come to think of it.

[plagueshard801]

In the current context, a kid threaten to shoot his school AND...
The police found assault rifle at the kid's home.

I mean seriously, that is enough to give parent a heart attack. We live in a world where is is currently a mass shooting every other day
http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting

Florida shooting is fresh in the mind of all americans. That story is definitely not nothing burger. That story just freeze the blood of hundred of parents.

Thank you. This kind of action is exactly what our country is screaming for right now. I have 3 kids in 3 different schools. It really feels like three times the risk it did a week ago.

[Ghostpanther]

Good to hear. But how did he obtain the rifles? California is pretty strict I thought. And 17 is underage for buying one.

[RaoBurning]

Good to hear. But how did he obtain the rifles? California is pretty strict I thought. And 17 is underage for buying one.

They were his 28 year old brother's rifles, as stated very clearly in the OP. One registered, one not, and 90-some high capacity magazines.