Lemoore student arrested after alleged threat to ‘shoot up’ community college
West Hills College in Lemoore went on lockdown for about 30 minutes Tuesday morning after a student received a text message from another student threatening to “shoot up” the community college.
Lemoore police said Benjamin Moorehead, 18, was arrested a short time later by Kings County sheriff’s deputies near 14th and Jackson avenues, about six miles away from the college campus.
Moorehead was booked into the Kings County Jail and is being held on $50,000 bail for suspicion of making terrorist threats.
West Hills-Lemoore spokeswoman Amber Myrick confirmed that Moorehead is listed as a student at the college. She said another student received a text message reportedly sent by Moorehead and reported it to college officials, who in turn called Lemoore police. The text message was reported to police at about 8:45 a.m., Myrick said, and the college was placed on lockdown for security reasons until about 9:18 a.m., shortly after Moorehead was arrested.
Lemoore police and Myrick said classes resumed their normal schedule for the rest of the day.
