Chatsworth Dad Charged After Son's Alleged School Shooting Threat

LOS ANGELES, CA — The fathers of two San Fernando Valley teens accused of making school shooting threats last month will face criminal charges for allegedly failing to secure their guns, City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Monday.

In one case, a 16-year-old boy allegedly threatened to shoot classmates at Chatsworth Charter High School with his father’s guns. Investigators later found two revolvers, one semi-automatic handgun, a rifle and 90 rounds of ammunition unsecured in the home. In a second case, a 17-year-old allegedly threatened to shoot a student at Granada Hills Charter High School, and officers allegedly found his father’s loaded semi-automatic handgun unsecured in a bag at the home. Both fathers face criminal charges of unlawful firearms storage. The charges reflect an effort to prevent school shootings by cracking down on irresponsible gun owners. In recent month’s the city’s Gun Violence Prevention Unit has publicized the arrests of parents accused of leaving guns within reach of kids.

“For goodness’ sake, lock up your guns. There’s no excuse not to,” said Feuer. “Locking up firearms saves lives and it’s the law. Incidents like these are potential school shooting tragedies waiting to happen. My office will continue taking swift, decisive action against parents who don’t safely store their guns.”

Feuer commended the parents and kids who helped avert a tragedy by reporting the threats to school police in both incidents.

According to the city attorney’s office, 59-year-old Robert Christy’s 16-year-old son allegedly made threats to other students at Chatsworth Charter High School saying he was going to shoot up the school. On Feb. 5, he allegedly made repeated references to his parents’ guns in the past.

Christy is charged with three counts of unlawful storage of a firearm for each gun he allegedly left unsecured. He faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each charge.

Dazo Esguerra, 50, is charged with two criminal counts including criminal storage of a firearm and unlawful storage of a firearm. His 17-year-old son allegedly made threats involving a gun to another student at Granada Hills Charter High School and on social media. According to investigators, Esguerra kept a loaded semi-automatic handgun unsecured in a bag in his closet. A magazine with seven rounds of ammunition was allegedly recovered from the holster where the firearm was located, police said.

Both men are set to be arraigned in April.

School and city officials Monday called on parents and gun owners to help keep Los Angeles schools safe.

"As a School Board Member and former principal, my most pressing responsibility is the safety of our children and the security of our school communities,” said LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson. “Our teachers and principals are trained to respond to threats made on campus but we need parents and families to discuss gun safety with their children and to encourage our students who see or hear something troubling from a classmate to say something. Building this trust will help keep our campuses safe."

"This incident is a reminder that threats at schools should never be taken lightly," added Councilmember Mitchell Englander, who chairs the Los Angeles Public Safety Committee. "I want to thank the School Police Officers and those who reported these threats for taking action and doing so with the sense of urgency that these incidents require. They may very well have saved lives and prevented yet another tragedy. It is important that everyone recognize that gun ownership comes with responsibilities to both your family and the larger community and Los Angeles is prepared to ensure that those responsibilities are met with the force of law."

School and police officials vowed to continue investigating parents who run afoul of gun safety laws.

“Our school police officers and detectives will continue to aggressively investigate all school safety threats and follow up at the residence of students or other locations where we believe access to firearms are present,” said Los Angeles School Police Chief Steven Zipperman stated. “We will arrest or seek to prosecute any adult having control of a premise that allowed unsecured access to firearms to a child or other prohibited person.”

The bottom line is that gun safety starts in the home, said city council member Paul Krekorian.

“School safety begins at home, and so does the potential for school tragedies,” said Krekorian, author of the city’s safe storage mandate. “Parents who own guns must lock them up to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. It is intolerable for us as a government or society to allow young people to be endangered in the very places they should feel secure, which is why the City of Los Angeles is doing everything in its power to curb gun violence. I applaud the City Attorney’s tireless work on this issue and his decision to prosecute these cases.”

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