A shooting and bombing plot at Berkeley High School was foiled when a 16-Year-Old was arrested by authorities for allegedly attempting to recruit others to join him.
Berkeley Police Department said the 16-year-old male was arrested after being tipped off on Saturday that he was trying to recruit others to help him carry out a shooting and bombing at Berkeley High School according to KTVU.
Once the police obtained a search warrant, they searched his home and found parts for explosives, assault rifles, knives, and electronics that could be used to make weapons.
Berkeley Unified Superintendent Brent Stephens told the school’s community that the district was in close contact with police during this investigation.
The teenager turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest and has been booked on suspicion of possessing destructive device materials and threatening to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury.
Police did not say if the teen was a student at Berkeley High School.
In a statement, the Berkeley Police Department said it is committed to preventing school shootings.
“School safety remains a high priority for the Department. As part of that commitment, the Department has a School Resource Officer assigned to Berkeley High School who regularly liaises with school and safety personnel,” the statement said. “In addition to the School Resource Officer, all officers have access to a range of training and equipment that provide them the protection, skills and ability to rapidly respond to in-progress violence.”
The superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District, Dr. Brent Stephens, issued a statement saying he has been working closely with police to assist in the investigation.
“As added precautions during this period, we alerted our administrative and security staff about this investigation and, as is our standard practice, maintained close contact with our BPD School Resource Officer on the Berkeley High School campus. Throughout the investigation period, we were assured that this individual did not pose an immediate threat to the Berkeley High School community.”
Investigators interviewed witnesses, examined evidence and obtained an arrest warrant. The teen surrendered to police and was arrested on suspicion of threatening to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury, and possessing destructive device materials, authorities said.
KNTV-TV reported that the teen took to the internet to “advertise” the idea.
“There was a young person in possession of potentially dangerous materials, hearing about a threat to our high school is concerning,” Stephens said. “What’s positive in this particular instance is that somebody, an individual in our community came forward very early to report what they knew to police. The police took immediate action.”
