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 felony threats, in response to 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 folks,” Ontario Police Chief Michael Lorenz stated 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 residence, stated Lorenz. The chief thanked Villasenor’s household for its cooperation within the investigation.
“His mother and father misplaced a really younger man who has costs on him and our sympathy and condolences exit to the household of Sebastian Villasenor,” Lorenz stated. “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 stated 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 by which seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot to loss of life 12 college students and one trainer 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 stated.
The felony grievance alleges that Villasenor “did willfully and unlawfully threaten to commit a criminal offense which might end in loss of life and nice bodily hurt” to 5 unidentified college students named Jane Does No. 1 by means of 5.
There was no hit checklist or manifesto recovered throughout Villasenor’s arrest, Lorenz stated. He added that police found who the alleged potential victims have been by means of the course of the investigation.
“We imagine it was by means of some social interactions that he had with the opposite college students” that led to their choice, Lorenz stated.
Faculty officers turned conscious of the alleged plot when a classmate who had spoken with Villasenor instructed college directors.
Ben Dykhouse, principal at Ontario Christian Excessive Faculty, didn’t affirm the character of the dialog between the 2 college students.
“What I can say is that I’m grateful for the relationships which were fostered between college students and our school that this scholar felt comfy sufficient to return ahead,” Dykhouse stated on the press convention. “I imagine it was a direct results of feeling comfy with an grownup to speak to about this very delicate subject.”
Villasenor had been a scholar for 2 years on the non-public college, in response to Dykhouse.
Villasenor hadn’t been concerned in any prior disciplinary incidents, Dykhouse stated.
Dykhouse stated he would think about bolstering his campus safety, though he was happy the varsity’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 folks that you’re not bothering somebody should you see one thing and you are feeling uncomfortable about it — it’s a must to say one thing,” Lorenz stated.
