Pinnacle High School Student Caught With Potassium Nitrate

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix police are considering whether to charge a student at Pinnacle High School authorities said threatened to blow up a mosque.

Paradise Valley School District says students were never in any danger and school was never locked down. Classes resumed on normal schedules Wednesday.

The student was overheard saying he wanted to "blow up a Muslim church" at the school Monday, police said, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The following day, he brought in a plastic bag holding "several pounds" of potassium nitrate, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. No specific mosque was mentioned, he added, and no weapons were found when he was detained.

Students at Pinnacle High reported what they saw and heard, prompting police to respond. That's when they took the 15-year-old into custody.

District officials reminded parents to check their teens' devices to monitor their social media and to remind them that making threats can be a felony.

Potassium nitrate can be mixed with other chemicals to create a flash powder and is widely available as a fertilizer.

"It’s always advisable that parents check their teens' phones and/or tablets to see what they are texting, posting on social media, and passing on to others," the district's statement said. "Teens should be reminded that making alleged threats, even when they intend it as a joke, can have severe consequences and is considered a felony."