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Student Arrested Over Threats of Attack on High School in Temecula

One of the threats posted on Twitter included the message, "good luck surviving the new Columbine."

A student was arrested for posting several threats on social media threatening an attack on a high school in Temecula. As fear of the threats escalated, parents arrived to pick up hundreds of students Friday morning before the school decided to cancel classes for the rest of the day.

Police were contacted after a threat was made on social media against Chaparral High School Thursday night.

The school said in a statement Friday they did "not have any information to determine the credibility of the threat" but said it has "been widely associated with the clown hoax rumors that have been ongoing this week."

One of the threats posted on Twitter Friday morning included the message, "good luck surviving the new Columbine."

Investigators arrested a 15-year-old student for the threats, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in a statement Friday afternoon. "The student was booked into juvenile hall for criminal terrorist and bomb threats."

Sheriffs said in the statement there were no weapons or bombs involved, and noted their investigation was still ongoing. 

Although the first threat was posted on social media Thursday night, the school waited to notify parents Friday morning "to allow police and staff the time to pursue the investigation," the school said in a statement. 

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Initially, parents were notified that extra security and a police presence would be on the school's campus Friday for support during the investigation.

In their statement Friday, sheriffs said the campus was deemed safe after a thorough search.

When another post specified that the attack would take place at 10 a.m., the school sent out another statement which reemphasized the police presence on campus and precautions being taken, but also provided instructions for parents who wanted to pick up their students.

"It's really not funny, you know we all have lives outside of school and work and some of us have to work and unfortunately there are parents that can't go get their kids that probably want to," said Kymberli Amato, one student's mother.

The school sent out a third update Friday which informed parents that classes had been cancelled for the rest of the day due to the "disruption" caused by the threats.

Dylan, a ninth-grade student, said students were not taking the threats lightly.

"Everyone's kind of worrying and you know and everyone's just scared, and they're wondering if there's really going to be a threat," he said.

The third school update provided instructions for parents to pick up their students from the school's gym.

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