A man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly calling in bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools and threatening to shoot the students.
Marcus James Buchanan, a 44-year-old Oklahoma man who grew up in L.A., is expected to make his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Wichita, Kansas.
Buchanan is charged with one count of making a threat through interstate commerce to damage or destroy buildings by fire or explosives, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
On the morning of Feb. 28, during a period of less than two hours, Buchanan called in bomb threats to two elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school in L.A., according to an affidavit filed with the federal criminal complaint. In a call to one of the elementary schools, Buchanan allegedly threatened to shoot the children as they exited the building.
On April 27 and 28, Buchanan allegedly called in additional bomb threats to two of the schools he previously threatened with new threats to shoot and kill children at other schools, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
On the afternoon of April 27, Buchanan called an elementary school and said to a school employee, “There is a bomb at your school and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in ’86,” according to the affidavit.
When the employee asked who was calling, Buchanan allegedly responded, “If you try to find out, I will shoot you.” After receiving the threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none, officials said.
On April 28, Buchanan allegedly called the same school again and said there was a pipe bomb placed at the school’s address. After receiving the bomb threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown again. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.
The same day, Buchanan allegedly called a different elementary school and said, “Stop playing games you know who this is. I am going to shoot the school. I know the kids are there.” The school was placed on lockdown, but no explosives or unusual items were found, officials said.
Phone records showed that the threatening calls came from a number associated with Buchanan, the affidavit states.
If convicted, Buchanan would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The FBI and the Los Angeles School Police Department investigated this matter.