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Southern California Boy, 12, Is Latest Arrested in Spate of School Threats

Southern California Boy, 12, Is Latest Arrested in Spate of School Threats

Social media apps including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp on a smartphone on Nov. 12, 2019. (Peter Byrne/PA)

Jill McLaughlin
Jill McLaughlin

9/19/2024

Updated: 9/19/2024

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A 12-year-old boy in Southern California was arrested Sept. 18 for allegedly making a criminal threat against other elementary school students, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

Sheriff’s deputies were first alerted to a possible threat made by the suspect six days before at a school in Jurupa Valley, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Detectives investigating the threat obtained evidence that led them to search the suspect’s Moreno Valley home on Sept. 18.

Evidence was collected at the home, but no firearms or dangerous weapons were found, according to the sheriff’s department.

The boy was arrested and booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of making criminal threats. The investigation is ongoing, according to the sheriff’s office.

The arrest was the latest in a spate of online and verbal threat incidents involving students in California and the nation. A deluge of false school threats has been posted to social media—mostly TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat.

On Monday, police in the Central California city of Modesto arrested two students suspected of making threats to their schools or classmates.

The social media posts made by a Modesto High School student were investigated and appeared to be part of an online hoax or scam. The threats impacted the community significantly, according to police.

The student was placed in juvenile detention.

In the second case, a student at Hanshaw Middle School was arrested after his classmates allegedly overheard him threatening to shoot up the school, according to police.

A police car on the corner of 10th and J streets in Sacramento on April 3, 2022. (David Odisho/Getty Images)

A police car on the corner of 10th and J streets in Sacramento on April 3, 2022. (David Odisho/Getty Images)

In other parts of California, a student at McClatchy High School in Sacramento was arrested on suspicion of making a shooting threat against the school. Police investigated the threats and arrested the 14-year-old Monday night.

“The Sacramento Police Department is aware of a nationwide social media trend related to school threats,” the department wrote in a community bulletin on Facebook Sept. 13. “It appears to be screenshot posts that are shared with different schools’ names on it.”

The Sacramento police said they were working with school districts in the community to ensure the safety of students and faculty.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested on Sept. 11 in Roseville, about 20 miles north of Sacramento, on suspicion of posting social media threats against Silverado Middle School. The threats were deemed not credible, and the boy was booked into juvenile hall, according to the Roseville Police Department.

In Stockton, a 16-year-old student from Lincoln Unified was arrested Monday on suspicion of making threatening social media posts.

Police said the threats were unsubstantiated, and the student faces counts related to making the threat.

And on Tuesday, Stockton police arrested a 15-year-old boy attending Lodi Unified School District on suspicion of making a threatening video against a local elementary school, according to the police department.

“We want to ensure parents and students realize that making threats can lead to disciplinary action at their school, including potential legal consequences,” the department said in a press release Tuesday.

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Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.

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