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 The teen, who was not identified, was taken into custody at his
home in the Santa Clarita Valley, about 35 miles north of downtown
Los Angeles, less than a day after the threats were posted on the
photo-sharing site Instagram, according to the Santa Clarita Valley
Sheriff's Station.
Dozens of worried residents had informed law enforcement about the
posts, which promised a "huge" shooting at local high schools in the
region, the sheriff's office said.
The posts, which have since been deleted, also included photos of
guns, dead bodies and threats against women and minorities,
Lieutenant Brenda Cambra of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
said Sunday.
"This is a crime. It's a felony to put criminal threats on social
media," she said.
One post read, "We are aiming our guns mostly at high school
students … Blood will be shed and families will suffer," according
to local station KTLA.
The teen did not appear to have an actual plan and no weapons were
found when he was arrested, according to the sheriff's office.
The photos of firearms posted on Instagram were stock images,
officials said. It was unclear what charges the teen would face
and whether he had an attorney.
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The William S. Hart Union School District, located in Santa Clarita,
said in a statement on Sunday it was aware of the threats and
working with local law enforcement.
"We wanted to communicate the threat to our families and then
continue to keep in touch until resolution of this issue, which we
now have with this arrest," a statement on Facebook said.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and
Cynthia Osterman)
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