Arrests in school threat incidents: Buckeye PD

PHOENIX – Buckeye police said they have made arrests in connection with two separate incidents involving threats against the school.

In a statement released Sept. 12, police identified the two suspects as a 13-year-old girl who attends Bales Elementary School and a 17-year-old boy who attends Buckeye Union High School. Both were arrested Sept. 12.

Investigators say they have received more than 300 reports of threats of shootings at city schools over the past week.

“None of the reported threats were deemed credible,” the statement read.

In the case involving the 13-year-old girl, police say she was arrested after receiving a tip from the Arizona Counterterrorism Information Center about threats of a school shooting in Buckeye.

As for the 17-year-old, investigators say he was arrested following an incident on campus. In a separate statement, Buckeye Union School District officials said the incident began with a text message that was shared around the school.

“The text stated that the student had seen another student with a gun in the restroom. The school was placed on a modified lockdown or ‘hold’ while staff and law enforcement investigated the text,” the statement read in part. “That investigation led the student who wrote the text to confess that he had made up the story and had never seen a gun.”

In their statement, Buckeye police said the 17-year-old faces criminal charges and school disciplinary action.