Former student who threatened attack on Antelope Valley High School arrested

A former Antelope Valley High School student was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he plotted an attack on the Lancaster campus and attempted to recruit students to join him.

Diavauni James Crooms, 18, was taken into custody at his home on suspicion of attempted murder for making threats, according to Deputy Yeni Deciga of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He is being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

“The high school is currently on winter break, and there was no immediate threat or danger to any students or staff,” Deciga said.

Sheriff’s deputies learned about Crooms’ plans after a parent called to report a threat he had made on social media, Deciga said in a Sheriff’s Department statement.

As deputies investigated the threat, they discovered Crooms had once attended the high school. He had been trying to recruit students to participate in the plot, the deputy said.

“The suspect was planning to acquire weapons and attack students at the high school at a future date,” Deciga said.

When deputies searched his home in the 43400 block of Gadsden Avenue, they found “messages detailing the suspect’s intentions,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

Investigators said they also found items that could be used to make explosive devices.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

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