18-Year-Old Is Questioned After Threats Against School

An 18-year-old Huntington Beach man was questioned by authorities Monday in connection with violent threats made against Ocean View High School in an Internet chat room, police said.

The man, who is not a student at the school, made the remarks on a school Web site but did not target a specific person, said Huntington Beach Police Lt. Chuck Thomas. Reports will be submitted to the district attorney this week, after which the decision on whether to prosecute the man will be made, police said.

A parent notified police Sunday afternoon after seeing the threats on a child’s computer. Through subscriber information to the chat room, police were able to find the man, who made threats that were “violent in nature,” Thomas said.

Police declined to release the man’s name or to describe the nature of the threats, citing the investigation. They searched the man’s home but did not find evidence that he would carry out the threats, police said.

Huntington Beach Unified School District officials did not have attendance figures available, but teachers and students reported that some classrooms were half-empty. English teacher Mike Sloan said that only four of 20 students showed up for his first-period class.

Anyone with information is urged to call Huntington Beach police at (714) 375-5066.