Grenade, Alleged Threats Spur Arrests

Three teenagers were arrested Tuesday on separate charges of threatening to blow up Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley, making death threats against classmates and possessing an inert hand grenade, authorities said.

Investigators believe that two of the three shared information about bomb making, said Lt. Dave Collin of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. But there was no evidence that the Quartz Hill High students were conspiring to commit the crimes, he said.

A 14-year-old was being held at the Challenger Juvenile Facility in Lancaster on suspicion of making a terrorist threat to blow up the school, Collin said. At his home, police found a manual on making explosives and a map of the school, showing where bombs could be placed and a possible escape route, he said.

A 15-year-old was being held at the same facility on suspicion of threatening to kill classmates, Collin said. That youth also threatened to kill a witness who had overheard his threats, the lieutenant said.

The third student, 15, was cited for possession of an inert hand grenade and released to his parents. Collin said there was no evidence that the boy possessed the materials needed to make the grenade active.