Two teenage girls have been arrested on suspicion of plotting a mass shooting at a Riverside County high school after investigators allegedly found months of discussions planning the attack, according to authorities.
On Oct. 6, the FBI alerted the Corona Police Department about online social media conversations about a threat to Corona High School, leading to the arrest of a 15-year-old girl, according to a department news release.
Detectives looking into the alleged plot searched homes and electronic devices as part of the investigation, according to the release.
Officials then identified a second suspect, a 15-year-old girl who attended Norco High School, according to the release.
The two teens allegedly spent months researching school shootings and talking about how they can carry out an attack at Corona High School, according to the release. Discussions between the two reveled that they allegedly talked about how to obtain weapons but hadn’t yet done so.
No weapons were found during searches in the investigation, police said.
Both teens are in custody on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, the release states. The Riverside County district attorney’s office is reviewing the case. The investigation is ongoing and is a coordination between the FBI, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the Corona-Norco Unified School District.
Police didn’t specify why the girls were allegedly planning the attack or if any alleged targets at the school had been identified. The identities of the teenagers haven’t been released to the public.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in an FBI statement that “a potential act of targeted violence against a Southern California high school was disrupted before anyone was harmed.”
“There is no greater priority than protecting our kids, and threats against our schools will be met with the full force of the FBI and our partners,” Patel wrote in the statement. “I want to thank the Corona Police Department and the men and women of FBI Los Angeles for their outstanding work.
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