Texas law enforcement personnel announced that two teenage girls were arrested over a supposed "mass casualty attack" planned for a Houston-area high school.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field office located in Houston said that it received information regarding two underage girls who were planning to attack a local school. After that, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the students attend Willis High School and Spring Branch ISD.
Threats of a Mass Casualty Attack
Deputies revealed that they were working on investigating a "criminal case involving online threats." The sheriff's office added that its top priority was maintaining the safety and security of its schools and the community, noting that it took every necessary precaution.
The FBI said that the two suspects who were taken into custody were aged 15 and 16 and planned to attack Memorial High School using pipe bombs and a gun. The names of the teenage girls were not made public because they are juveniles, according to CBS12.
Officials also noted that they learned about the suspects' plan on Tuesday and considered it a cause for concern to arrest the teenage girls the very same day. Spring Branch ISD Police Chief Larry Baimbridge with Spring Branch ISD said the situation was a perfect example of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement forces.
He added that he thinks authorities should handle such information this way, noting that he was thankful to the FBI for providing it. This is why they were able to act on the issue relatively quickly.
The Two Teenage Suspects
Officials revealed that the 15-year-old girl attended Willis High School and was in custody on Wednesday on unrelated charges. The other teenager was reportedly in custody in Harris County on the same day, USA Today reported.
The sheriff's office noted that it would release updates to the case as the investigation is still in its early stages and law enforcement is still reviewing evidence. FBI Houston Public Affairs Office Connor Hagan said that this situation is why the agency exists.
Hagan said that they were able to take troubling information that they received, perform a rapid investigation, turn their results over to trusted local law enforcement partners, and save the lives of innocent students who would have otherwise become victims of an attack.
Following the arrests, a letter was sent to Memorial High School families noting that the suspects had been arrested over a "potentially credible threat in the planning stages identified on social media," according to the BBC.
