Arrests related to school threatening incidents: Buckeye PD

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

In a statement released on September 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 on September 12.

According to investigators, more than 300 reports of shooting threats have been received at schools across the city in the past week.

“None of the reported threats were found to be credible,” the statement said.

In the case of the 13-year-old, police said she was arrested after receiving a tip from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center about a threat of a school shooting at a Buckeye school.

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

“The text reported that the student had seen another student with a gun in the restroom. The school was placed in a modified lockdown or 'detention' while staff and police investigated the text,” part of the statement reads. “This investigation resulted in the original student who wrote the text confessing that he had made up the story and had never seen a gun.”

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