A Navy corpsman at Camp Pendleton who is a suspect in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of San Clemente High School Wednesday turned himself in.
Pendleton officials notified police around 8:45 a.m. when 21 year-old Daniel Morgan went AWOL and didn't show up for work, according to Lt. Steve Doan of San Clemente Police Department.
Inside the corpsman's room, officials found a note saying he had placed an incendiary device "in and around" the campus of San Clemente High School, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Morgan turned himself in Wednesday afternoon to officials at Camp Pendleton, according to 1st Lt. Eric Flanagan of the First Marine Expeditionary Forces at the base. It was unclear if Morgan had any connection to San Clemente High School.
Morgan, who went missing this morning, was being questioned by Navy investigators, Flanagan said.
Police evacuated 3200 students and 180 staff members from the school to the sports field around 9 a.m. Bomb Technicians cleared the school's gymnasium around 11:45 a.m. and allowed students inside to escape the hot sun.
The FBI, Orange County Bomb Technicians, and the Orange County Fire Authority investigated.
"We're going room by room, inch by inch searching for any explosive devices," Amormino said. "We're taking this extremely seriously."
The students were release for the day by 1 p.m., district spokesman Marcus Walton said. They were taken to buses and then to drop-off points where their parents could pick them up.
Those with questions were asked call the School District's hotline at 949-234-5575 for additional information.
Police did not know why Morgan targeted the school.
"The only connection that we can put together this far is that San Clemente High School is very close to Camp Pendleton," said Amormino.
Today was the first day of classes at the school.
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @NBCLA // Facebook: NBCLA
