PHOENIX, Ariz. (KPNX) — Police in Phoenix, Arizona say a 15-year-old boy is in custody after making a threatening remark about Muslims and bringing several pounds of potassium nitrate to school.
According to police, a student at Pinnacle High School told his parents on Monday that a classmate of his said he wanted to “blow up a Muslim church.” Officers responded, and the witness told them he did not see any weapons or devices that would allow the suspect to act upon that statement.
“The statements were not specifically aimed at any church that we’ve been able to find, it was just that he said he wanted to blow up a Muslim church,” Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department said.
The next day, when the two were at school, the witness saw the 15-year-old suspect with a plastic bag containing several pounds of a white powdery substance, police said.
The witness went to the school office to report what he saw. School staff brought the suspect into the office and called Phoenix police.
Officers tested the powdery substance and determined it was several pounds of potassium nitrate, a salt-like substance. Police said potassium nitrate, which can be ordered through the mail, is not dangerous by itself but can be mixed with other common substance to create a flash powder.
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