Suspicious person on Berry Creek school campus identified as 14-year-old boy with pellet rifle

The suspicious person seen on the a Berry Creek school campus Sunday was identified Wednesday as a local 14-year-old boy with a pellet gun, officials said.

The boy was first spotted on surveillance tapes Monday by school officials at Berry Creek Elementary, north of Oroville in Butte County. The tapes showed a person holding a weapon on the campus on Sunday, and administrators called police.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a news release that investigators identified the subject of the tapes as a 14-year-old boy who lives in the area of the school.

The boy said that he had no intent to harm anyone or plan an attack on the school, the release said.

The boy said he borrowed the pellet gun from his friend and was using it to shoot at trees and cans, according to the release. The boy said his movements were based on reenactments from video games and movies he has watched.

Deputies “admonished the juvenile about taking a pellet rifle on school property and explained the concern such conduct can cause.”

The case has been forwarded to Butte County Juvenile Probation for review by a juvenile probation officer, officials said.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue to monitor the situation, the release said, but it does not believe there is an ongoing threat to the school or its students or faculty.