Long Beach police arrested a 13-year-old boy at Bancroft Middle School near Pan American Park on “terrorist threat charges,” Wednesday afternoon, when a teacher reported a verbal threat to school safety officers, authorities said.
The boy was taken into custody without incident, police spokeswoman Shaunna Dandoy said.
Dandoy could not specify what exactly the threat was because the investigation is ongoing, she said.
Detectives do not believe there is any threat to the school, she said, but they recovered a firearm from the boy’s home that he did not have access to. The weapon was legally registered to an adult family member and was locked and secured, Dandoy said.
“Students and staff remained safe the entire time, and school continued to operate as usual,” Long Beach Unified School District Chris Eftichiou said. He noted that police were there as a precaution because of the threat.
Violent Crimes detectives are still investigating the incident.