2 RivCo Girls' School Shooting Terror Plot Was 'Revenge-Based': Police

CORONA, CA — A planned Corona High School terror plot was thwarted this week with the arrest of two Riverside County 15-year-old girls, authorities said Tuesday. The students, both of the Corona-Norco Unified School District, had planned the revenge-based attack over months, the Corona Police Department shared.

On Oct. 6, the FBI notified the Corona Police Department of a potential threat at Corona High School that originated on social media. The plan indicated a potential future attack at Corona High School, police said. Further Corona Police Department investigation revealed the girls were making "specific plans as to how to carry out this attack," Lt. Robert Montanez told KTLA.

"The level and timeline of communication, which spanned several months, is very concerning," he said. The specifics of the revenge plot were not revealed in the ongoing investigation that led to the arrest of a 15-year-old female Corona High School student and a 15-year-old female Norco High School student, police said.

During the investigation, detectives served search warrants for electronic devices and communications at several Riverside County residences.

"The evidence obtained showed the two suspects had spent several months researching school shootings and discussed how they could carry out a potential attack at Corona High School on an unspecified future date," according to a police statement. "Communications showed the suspects discussed methods to obtain weapons but had not yet been able to do so. No weapons were located during the searches."

The two girls remained in custody for suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder while the Riverside County District Attorney's office reviews the case, police said.

Riverside County DA spokesperson Molly Smith told KTLA that both of the teenagers' identities are protected because they are minors.

FBI Director Kash Patel praised investigators in a social media post Wednesday, crediting the FBI's Los Angeles office and Corona police with disrupting the alleged plot before anyone was harmed.

"Protecting our kids is NON-NEGOTIABLE," Patel wrote, adding that two people were in custody and the investigation remained ongoing.

The Corona-Norco Unified School District confirmed in a statement released Tuesday that the Norco High School student previously attended Corona High School. The district also said neither teenager has been on campus since the investigation began Oct. 6. “We understand that hearing news like this can be unsettling for families, and we want our parents to know that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority."

Corona police said they worked with the FBI, Riverside County Sheriff's Office and Corona-Norco Unified School District in the investigation.

Though the girls allegedly researched how to enter the school to carry out the attack, the district pointed to safety protocols and monitoring systems in place at the school, and how they would reduce or negate potential threats.

"They were very much in the planning stages," Montanez told KTLA. No weapons had been purchased, no attack date was known, and no additional accomplices were known.

Anyone with information for the case was urged to contact Corona Police Department Detective George Edwards at 951-279-3656 or George.Edwards@CoronaCA.gov.

Patch Staffer Corey Washington contributed to this report.