LOS ANGELES _ Just 48 hours after a gunman slaughtered 17 students and teachers in Parkland, Fla., El Camino High School security officer Marino Chavez overheard a troubling threat.
A 17-year-old student with an "extensive" disciplinary history said he planned to "shoot up" the Whittier campus within three weeks, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell.
Within hours, investigators searched the teen's home and recovered two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns and 90 high-capacity magazines.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, McDonnell said he was grateful his officers had a chance to head off a potential tragedy.
"As we see these incidents occur one after another, we're all looking to say how do we stop this?" McDonnell said.
The teen, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, is being held on suspicion of making criminal threats, the sheriff said. His older brother, an Army veteran, claimed the weapons belonged to him and has been booked on suspicion of numerous crimes including possession of an assault weapon, according to McDonnell.
Chavez said he became aware of the threat on Friday afternoon as the student was walking back from lunch. The officer immediately confronted the teenager, who claimed he was only joking. The Sheriff's Department was called and learned that a handgun was registered to the student's home address, McDonnell said.
The student was angry about rules inside the classroom, Robert Jacobsen, an attorney for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, told reporters outside the school Wednesday in video posted by KCBS-TV.
"The teacher has expectations for the students to engage in learning during class time and told students to keep their cellphones and their earphones off so they can learn," Jacobsen said. "And this student wasn't happy about that. ... At least what we understand at this time, it was simply over that."
Law enforcement officers in the region have been on high alert since 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly opened fire in the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day. Many of the dead were teenagers, some as young as 14. Teachers who tried to shield their students from the deadly gunfire were also killed.
McDonnell said that although it was not clear how serious the student was about committing violence, after the attack in Florida, investigators' "main interest was to avoid letting anything like that happen." In the last week, heavy criticism has been lobbed at the FBI for failing to act on a tip about threats made by Cruz in the past, and Chavez said Wednesday that the incident in Whittier showed the importance of heeding early warning signs.
"The Sheriff's Department can only respond if they are told," he said.
In Southern California, in addition to the alleged Whittier plot, Inglewood police on Monday became aware of a social media post "indicating that students attending a specific Inglewood school were at risk of being targeted by a shooter," according to a news release.
Police detained the person behind the original post on Tuesday and have discussed possible criminal charges with the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Inglewood police said they would maintain a heightened presence at all Inglewood Unified School District facilities as a result. Calls to Inglewood police seeking additional information were not immediately returned.
And on Wednesday morning, Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Chris Steinhauser alerted parents of an unconfirmed threat that an attack was being planned at Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
"While these rumors are unsubstantiated, we take them seriously and are working with law enforcement to actively investigate," Steinhauser wrote in a warning published on the school's website. "You will see additional law enforcement presence at the school today. We appreciate those who alerted us. Your students will be safe and protected at school."
Long Beach Police Sgt. Bradley Johnson said detectives received information about the potential threat Tuesday and worked "through the night" to determine its credibility. Police planned to have an increased presence at Long Beach high schools Wednesday, according to Johnson, who said no arrests had been made.
