Lemoore police arrest 17-year-old student juvenile suspect for threatening school

The juvenile arrested was a student at Jamison High School, the District’s continuation school.

It was at about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday that Lemoore High School’s Youth Development Officer (YDO) learned that a student at Jamison was threatening to “shoot up the school.” The YDO investigated the incident and attempted to locate the juvenile student, who apparently had left the campus.

The Lemoore Police Department Problem Oriented Policing Team assisted the YDO in his search for the suspect and patrolled the areas around the schools. Unable to locate the suspect, the team responded to the student’s residence and searched it for any possible firearms.

Police found no firearms at the suspect’s residence, nor was any evidence located that would indicate the threats were valid. The juvenile suspect was not at his home. Police sent an alert to surrounding agencies in an attempt to find the suspect and ensure public safety. 

The suspect was located and detained by the Hanford Police Department at about 11:45 p.m. that same day. The Lemoore Police Department took over the arrest. The 17-year-old juvenile’s identity will not be released. Police booked the suspect in the Kings County Juvenile Detention Center for a violation of PC 422 (a)-Criminal Threats.

The Lemoore Police Department says that it takes these types of threats very seriously and working in partnership with the Lemoore Unified High School District, the Lemoore Police Department will continue to diligently investigate any threats of this nature made against a school. Those who make these types of statements will be arrested regardless of their actual intent to carry out the threat.