Quick Take
Watsonville police arrested a 21-year-old man Wednesday morning after they say he admitted to posting a threat on social media to commit a mass shooting at a Pajaro Valley Unified School District graduation ceremony.
Watsonville police arrested a 21-year-old man Wednesday morning after they say he admitted to posting a threat on social media to commit a mass shooting at a Pajaro Valley Unified School District graduation ceremony.
Watsonville Police Department spokesperson Michelle Pulido said that the department utilized two search warrants. One was for Instagram, which allowed officers to identify the suspect, and a second for his home, where they arrested him.
“We want to assure the community that there are no active threats at this moment, and school safety remains a top priority for us,” the department said in a release.
Police say a citizen reported the threat to the department on May 9 and officers immediately notified PVUSD administrators. Weeks later, on Wednesday morning, detectives and the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team served a search warrant on the 700 block of Rodriguez Street and arrested the suspect on criminal threats charges. Police say he had no guns registered to him and none were located.
They said he admitted to the online threat to “rage-bait the community.”
Pulido said that the department will have officers stationed at the graduation ceremony, which it does every year. She reiterated that there is no active threat.
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