Santa Clarita Valley school shooting threat found on Instagram; arrest made

VALENCIA, Calif. (KABC) -- A juvenile was arrested in connection with an Instagram post threatening to shoot Valencia High School students. The post also made threats against women and included racial threats.

A viewer alerted Eyewitness News and deputies confirmed at least 25 calls were made to their Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station beginning around 10 p.m. Saturday.

The scare started after the threats were posted on Instagram alongside images of guns, dead bodies and what appeared to be the Valencia High School marquee. The marquee was later determined to be of a similarly named high school in another state.

The caption "DEATH MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND" accompanied the picture of dead bodies, and another caption saying "VALENCIA HIGH SCHOOL HAS BEEN NOMINATED TO BE SHOT UP FIRST" accompanied the marque.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lt. Brenda Cambra said there was no evidence that the suspect who posted the images on Instagram had access to guns. The photos were stock images obtained online.

Detectives followed up on several leads and were ultimately led to a residence where a search warrant was executed, and a male juvenile was detained.

The suspect, who was not identified, attends one of the local schools in the Santa Clarita area and had made "no actual plan" to carry out the shooting, deputies said. No firearms were found at the residence.

"It appears the suspect made the posts to get a reaction from friends on social media, realizing too late that the threats were being taken seriously," a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station statement said.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with further information was urged to contact the Santa Clarita Valley deputies at (661) 255-1121.