Students in Sacramento, Galt arrested in connection with threats made against schools
Detectives have arrested two teenagers accused of issuing threats to shoot up Sacramento County schools on social media amid a rash of online warnings targeting schools nationwide.
Detectives on Monday night arrested a C.K. McClatchy High School student accused of posting online threats of a shooting at the Sacramento campus last week as unrelated threats swirled on social media nationwide targeting several schools across the capital region.
A C.K. McClatchy High student, identified as a 14-year-old girl, was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, Officer Anthony Gamble, a Sacramento Police Department spokesman, announced Tuesday.
He said detectives “worked extensively” to identify and find the person responsible for the threats of a shooting at the Land Park campus posted on social media last week.
“In a time when parents around this country have to mourn the loss of a child due to a school shooting, it is absolutely unacceptable that anyone would perpetuate this fear in others,” Gamble said in a written statement. “The Sacramento Police Department takes a firm stance against this type of behavior and will investigate these incidents to the fullest extent of the law.”
Also Monday the Galt Police Department arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection to making threats targeting schools in the Galt Joint Union High School District. It was unclear which schools were included in the threat, but the threats were deemed not credible, police said.
“Based on an extensive investigation, we believe the suspect acted alone and there are no outstanding suspects involved in this incident,” police said online.
The online threats — typically the same message with a school’s name added or superimposed — circulated on social media last week.
Parents said on social media that John F. Kennedy and Hiram Johnson high schools, among others, also saw a threat, according to parents who took to social media in the past several days.
The wave of hoax threats has heightened awareness for students, school officials and authorities.
Authorities arrested three students suspected of bringing weapons to Sacramento-area schools in the past several days, including a middle-schooler, though officials said those arrests were unrelated to the nationwide online threats.
Also last week, the Roseville Police Department arrested a 13-year-old student who created “fake social media accounts to spread false threats to create fear” at his school, against Silverado Middle School.
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 10:40 AM.
