AR-15 rifle found, L.A. student arrested after school threat
LOS ANGELES — A 13year-old student and an adult family member have been arrested in connection with a serious threat against a South Los Angeles middle school, and an AR-15 assault rifle and a list of targeted students have been seized, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department said Friday.
The threat was made against Animo Mae Jemison Charter Middle School in Willowbrook, an independent charter school where Los Angeles School Police do not have a presence, Sheriff ’s Department spokesman Rudy Perez said.
Students reported to school administrators that the teen threatened to shoot classmates and staff Friday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday at a news conference.
Sheriff ’s officials served a search warrant at the student’s home, where they found a semiautomatic assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine, 100 rounds of ammunition, a “rudimentary hand-drawn map” of the school and a list of names of students and staff members.
Officials did not elaborate on the role the student’s family member played in the threat, but both were arrested on suspicion of making a criminal threat. The adult may face myriad weapons-related charges.
Earlier reports that the AR-15 rifle was a “ghost gun” were inaccurate. The rifle was not registered but did have a serial number, law enforcement officials said.
“We want to thank everyone involved because they all did the right thing,” Villanueva said. “Because of that, we were able to prevent a possible tragedy today.”
In a separate incident, a student at Pete Knight High School in Palmdale was arrested after reports that student also threatened to shoot classmates Friday, Villanueva said. The teen had been involved in a fight on campus, resulting in the suspension of several students, including the suspect, who later posted threats and photos of a person holding a firearm, the sheriff said.
The two incidents are not connected, officials said, and the students who were arrested will not be identified because they are minors.