A father and his child have been arrested after a San Diego school shooting threat, police say
By Josh Campbell and Aya Elamroussi, CNN
(CNN) — A father and his teenage child were arrested after reports of a school shooting threat in San Diego led to the discovery of assault weapons and several untraceable guns at the family’s home, police said Tuesday.
The teenager was arrested Friday after police were called to Rancho Bernardo High School “to investigate reports of a student making verbal threats of a school shooting,” the San Diego Police Department said Tuesday in news release. The student was booked into juvenile detention, police added.
The student’s 45-year-old father was arrested and faces charges including possession of illegal firearms, manufacturing assault weapons and possession of a destructive device, police said in a news release Tuesday. CNN is not naming the father pending the availability of charging documents.
The father was booked into San Diego county jail early Tuesday, and he is set to be arraigned Thursday, police said.
After authorities learned of the school shooting threat, they obtained a search warrant for the teen’s home to determine whether the teen had access to any weapons. Authorities located multiple weapons, and a special team of explosives specialists were called in to secure the scene.
“During the search, several un-serialized firearms commonly referred to as ghost guns, and other assault weapons were confiscated along with several destructive devices,” police said in the news release.
Ghost guns are untraceable, self-assembled firearms, often put together with parts sold online. The weapons have been one of many issues facing regulators and policymakers trying to address gun violence.
Last year saw at least 82 school shootings in the US, and there have been three so far this year, according to a CNN analysis.
With gun violence changing day-to-day life in and out of the classroom, schools and parents are attempting to take safety into their own hands. Experts have been urging that students and staff need to be more vigilant so they can spot warning signs to help prevent yet another tragedy.
Rancho Bernardo High School Principal Hans Becker praised the students who reported the shooting threat, according to a message sent to parents at the school, which serves around 2,400 students, and obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“I want to commend the students who acted responsibly by reporting what they heard,” Becker said in a message over the weekend. “Please use this opportunity to remind your children, if they see something, say something.”
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CNN’s Eric Levenson and Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.
