A Southern California high school student is in custody after authorities say they found a “detailed plan“ to kill 33 students and staff members.
A list was found when authorities searched homes belonging to the student’s parents Tuesday. The document contained names of those targeted as well as plans on how the student would carry out an attack at Encore High School in Hesperia, the San Bernardino County Sun reported.
He was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of terroristic threats and attempted murder.
“There certainly was potential in this case for harm, and he had intent and capability to carry it out,” San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said during a press conference. “[But there is] no telling how or if he could have pulled it off.”
The student, who is not being identified because he is a minor, had “limited access to firearms,” McMahon added.
The investigation began when a concerned parent contacted the sheriff’s department after seeing a “threat of violence against our school on a social media outlet,” school officials said in a statement Wednesday.
The student was plotting alone and “there is no additional threat to staff or students on our Hesperia campus,” they continued. The student has not been on the campus since the investigation began and will not be returning.
Though the student’s plan also included the use of explosives, none were found during a search of the school with a bomb squad and K-9 team, McMahon said.
Parents attending the evening press conference expressed both relief and shock over the news.
“You never think that you’re not going to see your kid again,” parent Alma Seaman told KABC News. “If there’s threats to teachers, there’s a threat to my kid, even if his name wasn’t on that list. He was probably in that class.”
