Student Arrested After Making Threats

A 16-year-old boy suspected of having planned to gun down at least two other students and a teacher at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks has been arrested, it was reported today.

The boy, who was not identified because of his age, was arrested Friday and has been released to the custody of his father, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

The boy was a student at the school at 13645 Riverside Drive, according to the Daily News, which first reported the arrest.

Capt. Paul Snell, commanding officer of the LAPD's Van Nuys Station, told the newspaper that the boy was despondent over the recent death of his grandmother and was dealing with medical issues. He allegedly told a friend he was planning to kill two students and a teacher, Snell said.

Another student overheard the conversation and reported it to a parent, who contacted police, according to Snell, who said the teen confessed to the plot while being interviewed by police.

“He had talked about going in and killing several people at the school," Snell told the Daily News.  “There are some indications that there may have been some grade issues with the teacher."

He added in an allusion to the recent Ohio school shooting rampage in which a 17-year-old boy killed three students:  “It was a terrorist threat similar to other schools around the country."

Police recovered a functioning World War II-era M1 rifle that the boy intended to use in the attack, Snell told the Daily News.

Notre Dame High School President Brett Lowart told reporters outside the school this morning that students were never in danger.

“On Friday, March 2nd, our administration received reports that one of our students was overheard saying he wanted to harm others on our campus," Lowart said.

“We immediately called the student out of class and conducted an interview. At that point, even though there was not a weapon on campus and students were never in any immediate danger, we thought it best to report the matter to police. The police responded. They also interviewed the student and took him into custody.

“The student in question is no longer a student at Notre Dame.''

Lowart said an announcement was issued to students and parents “so that everyone would know that the safety of our students was never in question. Given other tragic incidents that have occurred around the country, we are pleased that this has ended without anyone getting hurt."

Lowart added that the school was limited in what information it could release about the case.

“We have confidentiality with the student that we have to adhere to, and we gave parents as much information as we could...," Lowart said.