A Chavez Collegiate High School student was arrested Thursday evening after police said he made statements about carrying out a shooting at a school event, with officers searching his home and finding no guns before booking him into juvenile detention. The arrest followed a same-day tip submitted through the school's anonymous reporting system, setting off a rapid investigation that police say ended without any discovery of weapons.
According to KBAK, a Chavez Collegiate High School administrator contacted the Delano Police Department's School Resource Officer at around 3:40 p.m. Thursday about a report submitted through the school's anonymous Stop It app. Police said the report alleged a student had made statements about carrying out a shooting at a school event.
Interviews Led to an Arrest the Same Evening
Officers moved quickly, interviewing several students before determining they had developed probable cause that the student had threatened violence against the school, the station's report states. That evening, officers went to the student's home and took him into custody without incident, per the same account.
Officers then searched the home and found no guns inside, police said. The student was arrested and booked into the Kern County Probation Department Youth Detention Center, with the case now set to be forwarded to the Kern County District Attorney's Office and the Kern County Probation Department for review.
Police Say Campus Is Not Facing an Ongoing Threat
Delano police said there is no ongoing threat to Chavez Collegiate High School, its students, or staff following the arrest. The department said it works closely with schools and districts to keep campuses safe and emphasized that every threat against a school is taken seriously, the outlet reported.
Police also thanked the students who came forward with information and said the report was received, investigated, and resolved with an arrest. The department is encouraging students, parents, and community members to report threats or concerning behavior through a school's Stop It app, a school administrator, or directly to police at 661-721-3377.
Part of a Wider Pattern of School Threat Cases in the Region
This is not the first time Delano-area schools have grappled with threat investigations in recent memory. In March 2025, officers were called to Morningside Elementary School after staff received an anonymous call reporting a potential school shooting, and investigators in that case recovered a fully operational pistol, three magazines, and multiple rounds of ammunition, according to KBAK.
Not every reported threat has turned out to be credible, however. Delano's School Resource Officer for Cesar E. Chavez High School investigated a rumor about a planned shooting after learning of it on a Friday, February 23, and police ultimately said no threat was ever actually present and no social media posts about it were ever found, per Turn to 23.
Nearby McFarland has seen its own cases as well. Police there arrested a second 13-year-old boy after he allegedly made a threat to shoot at McFarland Junior High School, with officers reporting that no weapons capable of carrying out the alleged threat were found where the boy was living. McFarland police said at the time that they believed there were no outstanding threats to the junior high school.
