Shooting Hoax Was a Rumor That 'Spiraled Out of Control,' Detective Says

A rumor that started in the halls of Bonita High School about the threat of a shooting escalated into a massive police and SWAT team response at the school's graduation rehearsal on June 7, a detective in the La Verne Police Department said.

Det. Tom Frayeh said miscommunication between several students resulted in an anonymous person calling the police department to warn of a graduating senior's plans for violence at the ceremony.

But the claims of a potential shooting "just weren't that credible," Frayeh said.

"I don't think they took this at a joke. It spiraled out of control, and at that point nobody knew what was happening," he said.

On the same morning of Bonita's graduation and the anonymous call, a regional SWAT team was in the city, training with La Verne police. The team and most of the city police department, including several patrol units and at least six detectives, were mobilized after the call was received.

In all, more than 30 SWAT team members and La Verne police officers responded to the call, with many showing up at the graduation rehearsal.

At the rehearsal, the student whom the call was made about was taken aside for questioning, which resulted in the discovery of the student who made the anonymous call in the first place.

No criminal charges have been filed for any of the students.

Frayeh said after recent school shooting across the country, police protocal has changed. Threats of violence to schools now elicit the largest police response possible.

"In cases like this, we're always proactive versus reactive. We do as much investigation as possible," Frayeh said.