Students Arrested Following Heritage High School Lockdown

Story updated at 3:45 p.m.:

A male juvenile student was arrested and booked into Southwest Detention Center and another suspect was released to his parents and may be charged with conspiracy in connection with the small explosion of a destructive device at Heritage High School today, police said.

The juvenile in police custody was booked for possession of a destructive device on school grounds and exploding a destructive device on school grounds, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Heritage High School was placed on lockdown for about two hours beginning at 9 a.m. today after an incident in the boys' locker room caused a loud chemical reaction from a plastic water bottle filled with dry ice, a school district official said.

According to Dr. Jonathan Greenberg, superintendent of the Perris Union High School District, a student placed dry ice in a plastic water bottle and shook it up, causing an explosive type reaction. The only real damage was the loud noise that caused ringing in one student's ears, he said. That student is now OK and there were no injuries, he said.

Greenberg said the lockdown was lifted about 11:15 a.m.

According to the news release, an explosive device made from dry ice is unpredictable and dangerous and has led to many injuries. These devices are illegal in the State of California and are considered a felony to manufacture and possess.

Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact Officer Cazarez from the Menifee Police Department at 951-210-1000.

In addition, Greenberg said there is no connection between this incident and recent social media postings regarding an app called "Burnbook", where anonymous threats regarding schools have been made. He said there is no evidence that any of those threats were linked to Heritage High School.

"Burnbook is something that has been going on at a national level for a while," Greenberg said. "There is no connection to this incident."