Paso Robles High School student arrested after shooting threat is found in restroom

An 18-year-old Paso Robles High School student was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly wrote a message in the boys bathroom threatening to shoot up the school, the police said in a news release.

Paso Robles High School safety staff found a message written in marker inside a bathroom stall that claimed a shooting would occur at the school on Wednesday. The message was considered hate speech, the release said.

“The Paso Robles Police Department takes all threats of this nature very seriously,” the release said. “An investigation was immediately initiated.”

Officers responded to the school around 12:30 p.m., the release said. Paso Robles police school resource officers and school safety staff quickly identified the suspect as Paso Robles High School student Levi Harrington.

According to the release, officers found there was no imminent threat to the school, students or faculty after an investigation that included a search of Harrington’s residence.

Police said Harrington was “immediately taken into custody” and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of two felony charges: Criminal threats and hate crime.

According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s online inmate database, Harrington is no longer in custody.

The investigation is ongoing, and police are asking anyone with information to call 805-237-6464 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stopper’s 24-hour hotline at 805-549-STOP (7867) or text “SLOTIPS” with your message to CRIMES (274637).