Visalia Police learned late Thursday that a 14-year-old student from Woodlake was planning on taking a gun to Mt. Whitney High School as an act of gang retaliation.
Captain of the Visalia Police Department, Jason Salazar said, "(He) Had reported to a friend that he was going to come to the school and shoot it up."
Although police did not locate a gun in the boy's home, in wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy just seven days ago, word of the arrest frightened many parents.
"After last week, it can happen anywhere, anytime," said parent, Kathryn McCarthy.
Another parent said, "The fact that he may be going to shoot another gang member, there's other people involved too. There's other students at the school."
Each school in the district has a safety plan that allows police to meet with staff on a regular basis to remind students and staff to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
"Folks report when things happen that are unusual, and it might be a student on campus that's not immediately recognized. It might be information that comes through whatever source, kids, parents, staff members," said Todd Oto with Visalia Unified School District.
The communication is exactly how the principal at Mt. Whitney got word.
"Through Facebook he had been alerted to a situation where a possible threat might be ocurring at his school," said Oto.
Police are still investigating, but don't believe there are any other suspects involved.
The 14-year-old was charged with terroristic threats and gang enhancement. He is expected to be arraigned as early as Monday.
