Two teenage girls in Southern California have been arrested by police after allegedly plotting a school shooting plot targeting a local high school over several months.
The Corona Police Department announced on the 20th that two 15-year-old female students were taken into custody on charges of planning a mass shooting at Corona High School.
According to police, the students investigated past school shooting incidents via social media and discussed methods to carry out the attack at Corona High School.
During the investigation, authorities secured a school campus map, a memo outlining ways to bypass California gun regulations, and a targeted kill list featuring specific students and staff members. Investigators found that the two suspects actively searched online regarding firearm availability, age limits for possession, and hunting license requirements. However, it was confirmed that they had not yet acquired actual firearms.
While Robert Montanez of the Corona Police Department noted that the suspects planned the attack out of a desire for revenge, a precise motive remains under investigation.
The plot was uncovered following a tip from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. On the 6th, Meta flagged violent communications exchanged between the two students and reported the activity to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which subsequently transferred the case to the Corona Police Department.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that a potential act of violence targeting a high school was successfully thwarted without any loss of life, emphasizing that all law enforcement agencies will respond strictly and thoroughly to any threats against schools.
This latest incident comes on the heels of a recent elementary school shooting rampage in Oregon, heightening public anxiety regarding campus gun violence.
On the 15th, a shooting at an Oregon elementary school left five people dead, including three children. The suspect in that case was identified as a 16-year-old former student of the school.
Additionally, a minor was arrested in possession of a handgun at Bell Gardens High School in LA County on the 21st, marking another consecutive campus firearms incident.
