Two students arrested in California school massacre plot

LOS ANGELES – For days, authorities say, two South Pasadena High School students plotted a massacre for when classes resumed after summer.

They swapped ideas over Skype about using explosives and firearms to target three school staff members and kill as many students as they could, never realizing that their communications were being monitored by local law enforcement, according to police.

When confronted by investigators, the boys matter-of-factly said they had been willing to die as part of their plan, South Pasadena Police Chief Art Miller told reporters.

Miller provided details Tuesday about the plot, saying police were able to foil what otherwise would have been a tragedy in the upscale community’s public high school thanks in large part to a tip relayed to administrators at the school district that was forwarded to police.

“As they put it, they just wanted to kill as many people as possible,” Miller said. “They had a very specific plan on how they were going to carry out their sick mission.”

Prosecutors were reviewing on Tuesday whether to file criminal charges against the boys, who are ages 16 and 17. The teens were being held on suspicion of conspiracy and criminal threats, Miller said.

Police gleaned some “pretty frightening information” from the computers and interviews with the suspects, Miller said. He declined to provide specifics about the alleged plot, how it was uncovered or the evidence that was found, saying the investigation was ongoing.

The arrests marked the third school shooting threat in Los Angeles County during the last few days.

Two Santa Clarita Valley teens were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of making separate threats of deadly school violence on social media. Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials determined those boys, ages 13 and 15, had made the threats as pranks that spiraled out of control. The 15-year-old boy is accused in juvenile court of making criminal threats. The 13-year-old had not been charged as of Tuesday.

In South Pasadena, police found no weapons or explosives during a search of the boys’ homes, but Miller said the threat of violence was real.

The students had researched weaponry, explosives and methods for disarming law enforcement officers who would respond to a school shooting, the police chief said. The boys, he said, also had discussed using a relative’s weapon.

“This was at the very beginning of their plot to create a massacre,” Miller said. The teens admitted “to wanting to carry out the threats.”

One of the students resisted arrest, closing the door on officers, who forced their way into his home as he attempted to run away, Miller said. The other student was taken into custody without incident, he said.

Police did not name the students, citing their status as juveniles.

The arrests came as South Pasadena High School, which has a student population of about 1,500, is scheduled to resume classes for the fall on Thursday.