Former student arrested after social media post threatened 'massacre' at Montebello High School, police say

MONTEBELLO, Calif. (KABC) -- A former Montebello High School student suspected of posting a social media threat toward the school was arrested, police announced Sunday.

The post was uploaded to Instagram and warned that the suspect was "going to take a gun and start a massacre" at Montebello High School on Monday, according to a news release from the Montebello Police Department.

The post came to the department's attention on Friday at about 11:56 p.m. when officers responded to a call regarding the threat. When police were able to confirm the threat after seeing the post, they identified 18-year-old Devin Harper of Montebello as the suspect.

The suspect denied posting the threat and told officers he was unable to access his Instagram account when he was contacted, according to police. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats.

Montebello police say Harper is a former student and was expelled from the school two years ago for making similar type of threats.

Police have been in contact with the Montebello Unified School Police, who is aware of the incident.

"It is our department's goal to keep our community informed with factual information," Montebello Unified School Police said in a statement. "We'd like to thank our community for making us aware of this threat allowing law enforcement to take prompt action."