UK Teen Arrested For Threatening Scottsdale Schools: Police

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A teen in the United Kingdom is accused of calling and threatening Scottsdale schools and businesses, saying he was armed with a gun and on his way to "shoot up" a specific school or business, police said.

The teen, who police did not publicly identify, was arrested Tuesday by United Kingdom law enforcement for several offenses related to the threatening calls, according to Scottsdale police. The teen lives near Manchester, England, police said.

Some Scottsdale schools were locked down last Friday, when the teen made his initial threats, until police found that the threats were not credible, police said. The teen made more threats on Monday, when law enforcement tracked and discovered the origin of the calls.

The numerous schools and businesses targeted were: Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, Notre Dame Preparatory Academy, Scottsdale Unified School District Office, Pima Traditional School, Hohokam Elementary, Cheyenne Traditional School, Cochise Elementary, Tommy V’s, OHSO Distillery, and Desert Schools Federal Credit Union.

In addition to the threatening phone calls, the teenager is also suspected of possessing and distributing indecent photos of children on the internet, police said. The teen will face prosecution within the United Kingdom justice system, police said.

Scottsdale police worked with Homeland Security Investigations in both Phoenix and London to track and identify the teen, police said.