Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Pupil Held in Pipe Bomb Incident Still in Custody

A 14-year-old Esperanza High School student, suspected of planting a pipe bomb on a school roof, remained in custody at Orange County Juvenile Hall Wednesday, a police spokesman said.

The device did not go off and authorities, acting on a tip, arrested the ninth-grader on suspicion of felony possession and manufacture of an explosive device, police said.

Police said they still have found no specific motive for the attempted bombing.

Esperanza officials issued a letter to parents Wednesday clarifying the administration’s decision to avoid ordering evacuation of the 2,250-student high school, said Joan Stewart, assistant principal.

Stewart said she and other school officials took exception to media accounts saying a bomb was found and that it had threatened the safety of students.

“The parents needed to know that the device was not hooked up and, in fact, part of it was here in the administration office. We let the students remain here only after the police deemed it safe to remain here,” she said.

The boy’s name was withheld because of his age.