Explosive devices found in California boy's home after school threat, officials say

Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times on Aug 26, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — A Santa Barbara County sheriff’s bomb squad was dispatched to the home of a youth after threats were made to a school, according to authorities.

Two explosive devices were recovered from the boy’s home Saturday, and officials said the “potential school threat” had been thwarted.

Raquel Zick, a spokesperson for the county Sheriff’s Office, declined to say which school had been threatened but noted there were “no on-campus aspects.”

The Sheriff’s Office said an investigation was launched Aug. 18 when deputies received a report that a male juvenile had made “concerning statements about harming others.” The pair of explosive devices were found Saturday in the boy’s home in the Orcutt area and safely recovered, sheriff’s officials said in a statement Wednesday.

As crisis intervention deputies combed through the juvenile’s online activity and searched his residence, they found he had an online connection with an Illinois juvenile with similarly “concerning interests,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

The agency said that it alerted the appropriate Illinois law enforcement agency of its findings, and the Illinois agency did not deem it to be an actionable threat.