An Ontario-area highschool senior who’s accused of planning to shoot up his campus as an homage to the Columbine Excessive Faculty bloodbath was booked Wednesday in San Bernardino County.
Ontario Christian Excessive Faculty senior Sebastian Villasenor was charged with 5 counts of tried homicide and one depend of tried prison threats, in line with county Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson.
Villasenor, 18, was being held on the West Valley Detention Heart in Rancho Cucamonga, however was due in court docket Thursday morning for a proper arraignment.
A lawyer for the defendant was not listed in court docket paperwork.
“Sebastian Villasenor had each intention to take the lives of harmless individuals,” Ontario Police Chief Michael Lorenz mentioned at a press convention Wednesday.
Police recovered greater than 1,000 rounds of ammunition together with seven rifles, two revolvers, a handgun and a shotgun from the household house, mentioned Lorenz. The chief thanked Villasenor’s household for its cooperation within the investigation.
“His dad and mom misplaced a really younger man who has expenses on him and our sympathy and condolences exit to the household of Sebastian Villasenor,” Lorenz mentioned. “It’s an unlucky incident that that is the mind-set that he had that he thought he had to do that.”
Lorenz didn’t touch upon whether or not the weapons have been legally obtained.
When requested about a possible motive, Lorenz mentioned the Eastvale resident “had an obsession with the Columbine capturing.”
April 20 marks the 25-year anniversary of the mass capturing on the Colorado highschool during which seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot to demise 12 college students and one instructor earlier than killing themselves.
“April 20 this 12 months occurs to be on a weekend, so we imagine it was going to be a while round that time-frame,” Lorenz mentioned.
The criminal complaint alleges that Villasenor “did willfully and unlawfully threaten to commit against the law which might end in demise and nice bodily hurt” to 5 unidentified college students named Jane Does No. 1 via 5.
There was no hit checklist or manifesto recovered throughout Villasenor’s arrest, Lorenz mentioned. He added that police found who the alleged potential victims have been via the course of the investigation.
“We imagine it was via some social interactions that he had with the opposite college students” that led to their choice, Lorenz mentioned.
Faculty officers grew to become conscious of the alleged plot when a classmate who had spoken with Villasenor informed faculty directors.
Ben Dykhouse, principal at Ontario Christian Excessive Faculty, didn’t verify the character of the dialog between the 2 college students.
“What I can say is that I’m grateful for the relationships which have been fostered between college students and our college that this pupil felt snug sufficient to come back ahead,” Dykhouse mentioned on the press convention. “I imagine it was a direct results of feeling snug with an grownup to speak to about this very delicate challenge.”
Villasenor had been a pupil for 2 years on the non-public faculty, in line with Dykhouse.
Villasenor hadn’t been concerned in any prior disciplinary incidents, Dykhouse mentioned.
Dykhouse mentioned he would think about bolstering his campus safety, though he was happy the college’s safety protocols prevailed.
“What’s vital is we study from these vital incidents that occur and we proceed to coach and we proceed to evolve and we proceed to instruct individuals that you’re not bothering somebody for those who see one thing and you’re feeling uncomfortable about it — you must say one thing,” Lorenz mentioned.
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