Police find several guns in home of teen who threatened Yucca Valley High School
Police find several firearms in the home of a teenager who had threatened Yucca Valley High School.
According to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the School Resource Officer notified deputies Monday afternoon that administrative staff at Yucca Valley High notified them that a 15-year-old male student had threatened to bring a gun to the school.
The investigating deputy determined that the threat was credible and a search warrant was served at the teen’s residence. Deputies said they recovered a 12-gauge shotgun, two .22 caliber rifles, a .357 magnum handgun and approximately 2,000 rounds of ammunition.
“The guns did belong to the parents at the house, but we believe the student had access to the weapons,” said Sergeant Dan Hanke of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Hanke said the threat was made toward another student who reported it to schools officials.
“I was a bit worried because you never think that it’s actually going to happen to you until something comes up like that,” said Carissa Napier, a senior at YVHS. “It’s pretty crazy that a child is left with weapons that are accessible.”
YVHS Principal Justin A. Monical asked that “Anyone with information regarding school safety to report those concerns to our administrative staff.” Monical also expressed thanks to the staff who took immediate action and made the report.
Full statement from Principal Monical:
It is with great concern that I compose this notification. It seems more and more common that students make threatening and menacing comments directed at individuals, groups of students or staff, and sometimes the school as a whole.
Yucca Valley High School administration received reports of a threat of violence at school. Taking immediate action, the school took appropriate disciplinary steps against the student involved to neutralize the threat and notified law enforcement. Local deputies executed a search warrant at the student’s residence following the initial report. Reportedly deputies seized firearms from the home and took legal action against the suspect.
We take every threat to the safety and security of our students and staff seriously, and we urge anyone with information regarding school safety to report those concerns to our administrative staff. We are thankful to the staff who took immediate action and made the report. We are pleased that the incident was resolved without direct threat to the campus.
Parents we spoke to also thanked the staff for their quick response and transparency.
“I’m just glad that he (Monical) reacts like that, you know, you are concerned every day when you drop your kids off, but at the same time, I feel pretty safe,” said Viola Napier, a parent of a YVHS student.
“As a parent, you want to hear that it got taken care of, not that there’s an issue with your kid, or that something is actually actively going on at the school. So far, with lockdowns and different things that have happened around the neighborhood, and with this, they’ve taken care of it pretty well,” said Amy Jones, another parent of a YVHS student.
The teen was arrested and a felony complaint will be filed with the District Attorney’s Office for review.
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