Deputies arrested a Pioneer High School student Wednesday who posted an online bomb threat against the school on social media, authorities said.
Investigators were notified about 7 a.m., prior to the start of the school day, that a student had made a statement via Twitter “threatening to blow up the school,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Robert Smith said.
Deputies and detectives responded both to the school, 10800 Benavon Street in an unincorporated county area west of Whittier, and to the home of the student believed to have authored the online statement, Smith said.
Because administrators at the campus know each students and greet them at the front entrance every morning, school officials immediately spotted the student and directed him to the guidance office when he arrived on campus, according to district officials. He was then detained by sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies interview both the sophomore who sent out the threatening tweet and his parents, the lieutenant said.
The threat was found not to be credible, Smith said, and the student had access to no weapons or explosives and had no prior history with law enforcement.
Initial investigation indicated the teen, who Smith described as a good student, “just didn’t want to go to school.”
He was cited on suspicion of making a terrorist threat and released to his parents with a court date, sheriff’s officials said.
The student was also expected to face disciplinary action from the Whittier Union High School District, WUHSD officials said.
“While we quickly learned that this was not a credible threat, I want to assure our parents, students and the Whittier community that each of our schools and the district take any threat very seriously,” WUHSD Superintendent Sandra Thorstenson said in a written statement.
“The Pioneer administrative team worked quickly and effectively in close collaboration with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to follow all safety procedures we have in place to protect our students. Our students were never in harm’s way and the normal school day was not disrupted,” according to the superintendent.