Credible shooting threat against El Capitan High thwarted, police say

A credible school shooting threat against El Capitan High School by a student was thwarted Thursday night, according to Merced police.

Merced police received a call Thursday night about a school shooting threat against El Capitan High School to be carried out Friday, according to a Merced Police Department news release.

The Merced Union High School District also received a tip from the district’s “Tip411” system of a student “making statements that could be construed as threats of violence against other students at El Capitan High School,” according to the district’s news release.

School officials said another student reported the threat.

Several students were interviewed and the student who posted the threat against the school was identified, the release states.

The student, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, Merced Police Capt. Bimley West said, adding that a couple of weapons were located that are possibly connected to the threat.

The student was booked into the Merced County Juvenile Detention facility, according to the news release.

“This morning, law enforcement officials gave us the all-clear and assured us that the campus is safe,” the school district’s release states.

Classes at El Capitan High were operating on regular schedule, according to the release.

“This is a horrible thing that happened in our own backyard,” West said, noting that police viewed the threat as credible. “We’re happy to be able to intervene as quickly as we did to possibly prevent a tragedy from occurring in our city.”

The threat was reported less than a day after a mass shooting at a Santa Clarita high school resulted in the deaths of three students, including the gunman.

Parents in Merced County also have been on edge after several false threats led to parents taking students out of class and left the school community wondering how to prevent against a tragedy.

In Los Banos, several social media threats against either school campuses or its students have gripped the Westside Merced County community in fear.

Facebook community groups were awash with concerns this week after a Monday or weekend social media post reportedly threatened several individuals who were students at either Los Banos Junior High or Pacheco High. Los Banos detectives were still investigating the threat Friday, which seems to have come from a fake account, police said.

Los Banos Unified School District Superintendent Mark Marshall issued a statement Friday morning telling parents, students and staff that the district’s schools will have an additional police presence to alleviate concerns about student safety.

“In light of recent events in Santa Clarita and this week’s social media threats, we understand that parents are concerned about safety,” the statement reads. “In an effort to help ease these concerns, there is added police presence throughout the school district today.”

All schools were expected to have additional police presence, said Marshall, who told the Sun-Star the statement was made before Los Banos officials were made aware of the El Capitan High threat.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 8:45 AM.