Clovis Police arrest 15-year-old over school threats
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 15-year-old boy was booked into the Fresno County Juvenile Justice Corrections for making criminal threats after police say he targeted Clovis West High School and Buchanan High School on social media.
Police say they arrested the boy just after 2 a.m. on Friday. Police say he posted a picture of an assault rifle warning the students of the two schools.
No weapons were found at the teens home and the family has cooperated with law enforcement. Police say the picture came from a website.
Even with the arrest, police and the Clovis Unified School District say they will have an increased presence at the two high schools.
Recently, other local schools have also been the target of similar threats. Yesterday a Central High School West student was arrested after making threats against his school. Deputy sheriffs say the threats were credible, however, he did not have any weapons on him.
On Wednesday, another teen was arrested, a 15-year-old Clovis student, who posted a picture of his air-soft rifle on Snapchat threatening students and staff at Buchanan High School.
Clovis Unified released the following statements:
Overnight police and district administration were notified of a social media post made by a Clovis West High School student who copied a picture containing a weapon from the internet and made a threat to Clovis West High and Buchanan High. The post was widely circulated in the community and an investigation occurred late last night and early this morning. Thank you to our local law enforcement (Clovis, Fresno and Clovis Unified officers) who investigated this report to its source.
In another unfortunate example of the extremely serious consequences facing young people who irresponsibly use social media to spread rumors and false threats, the student who made this post was arrested early this morning for his dangerous actions. The following messages were sent to the Kastner Intermediate, Clovis West High, Garfield Elementary, Alta Sierra Intermediate and Buchanan High communities this morning. Because no credible threat existed from this post, all campuses are open as regularly scheduled this morning. Additional police officers will be present on and around campuses in a gesture of reassuring support to our students, staff and parents.
Kelly Avants, APR
Chief Communication Officer
Clovis Unified School District
559.327.9092
Message to CW and Kastner Community
This is an important message from Clovis West High School. Overnight, our local police became aware of a social media post made by a Clovis West High School student that appeared to contain a threat to our school. This post was also shared in the Kastner Intermediate community. Immediately an investigation was launched by City of Clovis Police, City of Fresno Police and Clovis Unified officers, who were able to identify the student, and identify the photo as being copied from the internet. Police have determined this post was a hoax, and the student who created it was taken into custody by officers from the Clovis Police Department. We appreciate the swift and thorough work of our law enforcement partners to investigate this post to its source, and want everyone in our community to know that any comments made online or in person that threaten our students or schools will be treated seriously.
Parents, we ask that you talk to your students about responsible use of social media, and about the seriousness of making any remark that appears to threaten the safety of our students. Such remarks will result in arrest, expulsion from school or other serious consequences. Finally, we want to thank those who saw this post and reported it to officials for investigation. Thank you for your support of our efforts to preserve a welcoming and secure campus for our students, and thank you for your attention to this message.
Sincerely,
Rich Sarkisian, Principal Clovis West High School
Message to BHS Community
This is an important message from Buchanan High School. Overnight, police and school district administration have again worked together to address another irresponsible social media post in which BHS was mentioned. The post was not made by a BHS student, but did appear to contain a threat to our campus. The post was also shared in the Clovis West High and Kastner Intermediate communities.
Immediately, an investigation was launched by police from Clovis, Fresno and Clovis Unified, who were able to identify the student, and identify the photo as being copied from the internet. Police have determined this post was a hoax and it did not represent a credible threat to anyone. The student who created it was arrested early this morning by Clovis police offficers for these irresponsible and dangerous actions.
We appreciate the swift and thorough work of our law enforcement partners to investigate this post to its source, and want everyone in our community to know that any comments made online or in person that threaten our students or schools will be treated seriously. Parents, we urge you to have candid conversations with your students about responsible use of social media to avoid arrest, expulsion from school or other serious consequences.
Finally, we want to thank those who saw this post and reported it to officials for investigation. Thank you for your help to preserve a welcoming and secure campus for our students, and thank you for your attention to this message.
Sincerely,
Joe Aiello, Principal Buchanan High School
