A San Joaquin Memorial High School student was arrested after referencing a violent Eminem track on Instagram.
The 15-year-old boy from Fresno, California had written "I take seven kids from Columbine, stand 'em all in a line, add an AK-47, a revolver, a nine, a MAC-11 and it oughtta solve the problem of mine. And that's a whole school of bullies shot up all at one time. I'm just like Shady and just as crazy as the world was over this whole Y2K thing." The lyrics are from Slim Shady's "I'm Back," a record off "The Marshall Mathers LP" released in 2000. "I'm Back" references the tragic massacre at Columbine High School in 1999 that left 12 students and one teacher dead after two seniors shot them and later turned the guns on themselves.
School officials reached out to authorities who arrested the student Monday night (Aug. 31). Upon arrival at his home Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer says they seized a replica AK-47 Airsoft rifle, a handgun, a .357 Magnum revolver, a 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition. A hidden bulletproof vest was later found in the subfloor of a closet, but both the boy and his father claim they had no knowledge of the guns ever being in the home.
Principals at his current and former schools, San Joaquin Memorial High and St. Anthony's Catholic School, respectively, cancelled classes Tuesday due to safety precautions.
Dyer says the teen is currently in custody and will undergo a mental health evaluation. "These are really all of the things we look for in individuals that historically have been involved in incidents like Columbine," he reported. "So we're very fortunate that this was brought to our attention. We have every reason to believe that he was reaching out for help....The weapons were present. The ammunition was present. Perhaps even the mindset was present to carry out those threats." Dyer also noted the boy's mother passed from an undisclosed illness last year, "he recently broke up with his girlfriend, he quit the football team, and he was doing poorly in school."
His family says the 15-year-old was "a quiet kid with a circle of six to seven friends," according to his lawyer, Linden Lindahl.
Source: The Fresno Bee
