New information in a Southern California school shooting threat investigation led officers to release the first student they arrested Tuesday and arrest another student Wednesday.
A 15-year-old boy, now a former student of Chino High School, was arrested at the school at around 3 p.m. Wednesday in connection with a criminal threat against the high school, Chino police said in a news release.
On Tuesday, detectives arrested another 15-year-old boy in his Ontario home, believing he was the suspect in a series of tweets that stated "Chino needs a good shooting" and "Im recreating Columbine." Detectives said they had "developed probable cause" to arrest the boy.
However, "additional leads" revealed that the student who was initially arrested was not involved in the crime, police said. That student has since been released.
The new leads led detectives to detain another 15-year-old male student at Chino High School. Police said he "provided a full confession" and stated he acted alone in posting the criminal threats on his social media account.
The student, who has not been identified, is being booked into juvenile hall on criminal threats.
Tactical Institute, an organization in Washington D.C., notified the Chino Independent School District of the shooting threat two minutes after it was posted to social media on Tuesday. The organization monitors the internet for threats in real-time.
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"The Chino Police Department and Chino Valley Unified School District will continue to take all threats of violence seriously," Chief of Police Karen Comstock said in a news release. "School safety remains a top priority and we will use all resources necessary to ensure that the parents, students and school faculty are safe on campus."
Classes remain in session as usual, the Chino Valley Unified School District said in the release.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is encouraged to contact Sgt. Whitham at 909-334-3059 or awhitham@chinopd.org.
