LAS VEGAS (AP) - Several Las Vegas-area teenagers were arrested this week, including a 15-year-old boy who police say had a loaded stolen handgun in his backpack at a high school campus and two teens accused of making social media threats to shoot people at school, a campus police official said Thursday.
An on-campus tip led to the arrest of the boy Wednesday at Chaparral High School, Clark County School District police Sgt. Bryan Zink said. He was being held in juvenile custody on felony stolen gun and misdemeanor dangerous weapon on school campus charges.
It was not immediately clear if the boy threatened to use the weapon. His name wasn’t made public because of his age.
Zink said investigations begun based on tips received through the anonymous Nevada SafeVoice smartphone app led to the arrest of a 13-year-old Silvestri Junior High School student at her home on Wednesday and the arrest of a 16-year-old Valley High School student at his home on Monday.
Both face felony charges of making terrorist threats, Zink said. Investigators don’t think the girl had access to weapons, but Zink said police seized three BB guns from the boy’s home. The teens were not identified.
“We’re telling parents to be aware of what their kids do online,” Zink said.
Another investigation led officers to issue a summons on Monday to a Canarelli Middle School student to appear in juvenile court on a misdemeanor charge stemming from a social media post about shooting another student, Zink said.
The incidents at schools throughout the sprawling district come the same week a 15-year-old boy admitted his role in racially specific internet social media posts calling for violence to “cleanse the hallways” of blacks at a Las Vegas high school. He’s due for sentencing Friday.
Neither the teen nor a 14-year-old co-defendant who previously admitted creating the Instagram posts was identified because of their ages.
The 14-year-old was sentenced April 12 to a juvenile facility diversion program followed by at least three years’ probation.
The school district is among the largest in the nation. It has about 320,000 students at 360 schools in and around Las Vegas.
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