1 Person In Custody After 'Threat' Made To Beverly Hills High School

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A suspect was taken into custody Thursday after pointing a so-called "airsoft" gun at Beverly Hills High School and posting a picture on social media, causing students and staff to shelter in place, police said.

Beverly Hills High School sheltered in place Thursday afternoon after police received a report of a potentially threatening social media post, according to Lt. Giovanni Trejo, public information officer for the Beverly Hills Police Department. The shelter in place order was lifted around 2:30 p.m., Trejo said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers located the suspect who posted the photo, which was taken in the 10000 block of South Santa Monica Boulevard in the Century City area, and took the person into custody.

During the arrest, authorities also recovered an airsoft gun — a kind of low-power weapon used in recreational sports that shoots non-metallic projectiles.
Police noted the suspect had no known connection to the high school, but no further details were immediately released.

Police did not believe there was an active threat to the school at any point, according to Trejo.

The Los Angeles Police Department received a report around 1:05 p.m. of a social media post that reportedly depicted a person pointing a gun at the high school, according to LAPD. The department had not verified the photo's existence or content by 3 p.m. but passed the tip on to Beverly Hills authorities, according to LAPD.

LAPD and BHDP officers responded at the high school as a precaution and school authorities decided to shelter students in place. Sheltering in place is short of a formal lockdown, Trejo said.

Officers were on the scene investigating Thursday afternoon, Trejo said.

City News Service contributed to this report.