3 Teens Arrested; Guns, Replica AR-15 Seized In Thwarted Shooting At Desert Hot Springs High School
DESERT HOT SPRINGS (CBSLA) — Three 14-year-olds have been arrested and two handguns and a replica semiautomatic rifle were seized in what police say was a thwarted school shooting at Desert Hot Springs High School.
Two boys and a girl were arrested Sunday and their homes searched after "troubling social media posts" were reported to the police by a Desert Hot Springs Unified School District staffer. The details of the planned attack were not released but were apparently planned for Monday.
At the homes of the three juveniles, detectives found a replica AR-15 and two real guns – a revolver and a semiautomatic black handgun. The quality of the fake assault rifle was especially troubling to officials, who took the time to demonstrate the similar features of between the replica and the real AR-15.
"Tell you right now, officers encounter this at a school, out on the streets, someone jumps out of a car, points it at an officer – there's a high probability of a deadly confrontation," Detective Larry Gaines said. "There's no way to tell this a fake weapon without actually having it inside your hands."
The three minors are in custody at juvenile hall and have been charged with terrorist threats.