Student arrested after bomb-making chemicals are found

PATTERSON, CALIF. —  A high school student whose parents said that he threatened to kill 50 of his classmates was arrested after bomb-making chemicals were found in his bedroom, authorities said.

The Patterson High School student -- whose name was not released because he is a minor -- surrendered Saturday, said Royjindar Singh, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

The 15-year-old student was arrested on a felony warrant on suspicion of possessing materials used in making incendiary devices.

He was placed in protective custody a week ago after his parents reported the alleged threat against other students and deputies investigated possible charges. While the boy was in custody, his parents said they found bomb-making chemicals in his room, a claim that the bomb squad confirmed.

By the time investigators obtained an arrest warrant against the boy, however, his parents had signed him out of protective custody -- against the medical advice they were given -- hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating with detectives, Singh said.

Investigators were pursuing arrest warrants against the parents for allegedly harboring a fugitive when the boy turned himself in. Efforts to arrest the parents were then dropped, Singh said.

Patterson is in the Central Valley area southwest of Modesto.