No charges for suspect of threats against schools
Dec 18, 2012, 3:35 AM
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A California man accused of making online threats against elementary schools after the school shooting in Connecticut won’t face charges, Los Angeles prosecutors said Monday.
The district attorney’s office said Kyle Bangayan, 24, made no specific threat to a victim or school before he was booked into the downtown jail Sunday for investigation of making criminal threats.
The Pomona man told police he was joking when he wrote that if people don’t stop posting about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings on Facebook, then he would do the same thing. Bangayan said the joke got a few laughs.
On Friday, Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother, then shot and killed 20 children and six adults at the school in Newtown, Conn., before killing himself.
Bangayan also wrote that thousands of children die in other countries and that Americans needed to get over the shootings.
Police and FBI agents went to the east Hollywood home of Bangayan’s father after a resident notified authorities about the online postings, Smith said. FBI agents closed their investigation after they talked to Bangayan’s parents, searched his apartment and car, and found nothing threatening.
“When we get information like this, we take it very seriously, even more so now in light of the Connecticut school shootings,” Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
The joint investigation has been turned over to Los Angeles police, and there won’t be any federal charges, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
When police and FBI agents arrived at the east Hollywood home, Bangayan’s father gave permission for a search, authorities said.
Nine weapons and ammunition were confiscated, including rifles, a shotgun and handguns, authorities said.
It’s not yet known if the weapons belonged to Bangayan or his father. No weapons were found at Bangayan’s residence in Pomona.
The father’s telephone number is unlisted, and there is no listing for Kyle Bangayan in Pomona.
The home is in a working-class neighborhood about eight miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Pomona is about 30 miles to the east.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
