A high school student and his father were arrested after police served a search warrant in response to the teen threatening to shoot up Rancho Bernardo High School.
San Diego Police confirmed to NBC 7 that the Rancho Bernardo High School campus is safe and has been swept for any explosive devices.
Police received several reports last Friday saying the suspected teen was showing concerning videos and making threatening statements against the school for Tuesday, Jan. 30, SDPD said. That same day, the student, who was not named because he was underage, was arrested and taken to juvenile hall.
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"I want to commend the students who acted responsibly by reporting what they heard. Please use this opportunity to remind your children, if they see something, say something to continue to keep our community safe through our collective vigilance," read a letter from Principal Hans Becker that was sent out to students over the weekend.
Police took out a gun violence restraining order at the teen's home located on the 11000 block of Avenida Sivrita, just blocks away from the school. On Tuesday morning, unregistered, un-serialized firearms; manufacturing supplies to make ghost guns (both rifles and handguns) as well as a large number of explosives and rocket-propelled grenades were found at the home, police said.
The father, 45-year-old Neal Anders was arrested and booked into San Diego County jail on several charges.
Officers say the wife and other children were home at the time. They were allowed to leave during the arrest.
NBC 7 reached out to Poway Unified for a statement but has not heard back. NBC 7 has obtained a letter sent to students this past weekend where they informed the Bronco families about the threat.
Dear Bronco Families,
Late yesterday afternoon we were notified by students that they had witnessed another student showing concerning videos and making threatening statements against others and the school. Law enforcement was contacted immediately and launched an investigation yesterday evening. After deputies met with the student, they were taken into custody and all families of impacted students were notified. We want to assure you we will be working very closely with law enforcement and the city attorney’s office to address the matter appropriately, according to PUSD and police procedures. We appreciate our partners taking this very seriously.
I want to commend the students who acted responsibly by reporting what they heard. Please use this opportunity to remind your children, if they see something, say something to continue to keep our community safe through our collective vigilance.The PUSD Tipline is monitored 24-7 by law enforcement: 1-844-PUSD-TIP (1-844-787-3847).
The San Diego Police Department will be on campus next week following up on their investigation and providing a reassuring presence. I want to reiterate that Rancho Bernardo High School remains a safe place for our students and staff.
Respectfully,
Hans Becker
Principal
Neal Anders is set to be arraigned on Thursday.
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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated police referred to the dad as a "doomsday" prepped-style person. That has been removed. The information came from an SDPD sergeant on the scene Monday night after a member of the media asked about some boxes of MREs spotted in Anders’ garage. However, a LinkedIn page appearing to belong to Anders lists him as a volunteer for the San Diego Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The description says he works as a Disaster Service Worker, which could explain the MREs.
