12-year-old Pinole student confesses to sending shooting threat via email: police

PINOLE, Calif. - A 12-year-old confessed to sending an email earlier this week indicating there would be a shooting at Pinole Middle School, police said on Friday.

Lt. Jeremy Crone said the student was cited for threatening violence and was released to the custody of his parents. The email about the shooting came in Monday about 8:20 p.m. Police are working with the parents to "provide resources" to the student and family.

There was no evidence that the 12-year-old had any weapon, police said. 

This incident is separate from another gun incident earlier that day. 

"We weren't able to discern a connection between the two," Crone said, adding that the timing was odd. 

On Monday, Pinole Middle School was forced into lockdown because a student brought a pellet gun to campus. 

In that case, police said someone reported seeing the gun, which they said appeared to be a real semi-automatic weapon.

Police located the gun in a student's backpack.

One student said the boy brought the gun to school because of a previous altercation with another student.  

"He just pulled it out of his pants," the student said. "He just pulled up his jacket a little and I saw it."

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The student said he didn't notify an adult because the other boy "was threatening to shoot me. He was threatening to shoot all the other kids that he told about the gun. He told one of my friends that he was also going to shoot him if he told the teachers or anything."

No one was injured.

Police arrested that student for having a gun on campus. He was booked into juvenile hall. His age was not immediately provided. 

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call 510-724-1111.