Twisted revenge plot revealed as possible motive after two teen girls planned to shoot up SoCal high school: cops

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Cite

O'Keefe, R. (2026, October 21). Twisted revenge plot revealed as possible motive after two teen girls planned to shoot up SoCal high school: cops. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/21/us-news/police-uncover-revenge-motive-in-corona-high-school-threat/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-21 · by Ross O'Keefe

Quick Summary

Corona police reported that two 15-year-old girls were arrested in October for planning a "revenge-based attack" at Corona High School in Southern California. According to Lt. Robert Montanez of the Corona Police Department, the girls researched how to obtain firearms and discussed various methods of carrying out their plan online. The FBI intervened after identifying the social media discussions and worked with local authorities to arrest the suspects on October 6 and October 20. No charges have been filed yet due to legal protections for juveniles under California law.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Two 15-year-old girls, one from Corona High School and another from Norco High School in California's Riverside County, were arrested for allegedly planning a school shooting. The FBI first alerted local authorities on October 6 after discovering threatening social media communications. Police executed search warrants, examined electronic devices, and searched several residences before identifying the second suspect on October 20.

The girls are accused of spending months researching past school shootings and discussing methods to obtain weapons for their alleged attack at Corona High School, though they did not succeed in acquiring any firearms or other weapons. Both remain in custody charged with conspiracy to commit murder; if convicted as adults, they could face a sentence of 25 years to life.

Police stressed that while the planning was extensive, no specific date for an assault had been set and authorities intervened before any attack materialized. FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the seriousness of threats against schools, stating, "There is no greater priority than protecting our kids."

Written for “California High School Shooting Plot Arrests” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California High School Shooting Plot Arrests
Crime & Law · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 1 of 10 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the arrest of two 15-year-old female students for allegedly plotting a school shooting at Corona High School in California.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 21 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the exact same incident involving two 15-year-old girls from Corona and Norco planning a revenge-based attack at Corona High School, discovered by FBI and investigated by local police.”
The Independent
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 2 of 19 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the arrest of two 15-year-old girls in Riverside County, California, for allegedly planning an attack at Corona High School.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 27% hedged 6 of 22 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the arrest of two 15-year-old girls from Riverside County who planned a revenge-based attack at Corona High School.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 13062 article(s) · 33 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 33 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ross O'Keefe
90 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A California man has been charged with murder after allegedly poisoning his foster mother, burying her in a hole and forging a marriage certificate so he could take control of her assets.
🔮 “Anyone who targets me or my family, invades our privacy, or engages in harassment will be met with a full and firm response.
🔮 He added that investigators say the girls looked up how to obtain a firearm despite their young age and also discussed hunting license requirements and whether guns could be purchased online or obtained through other sources.
🔮 “Over the past several months, we’ve taken a hard look at our business, how we operate, and what it will take to lead in this next era of interactive entertainment,” Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and COO, said in a memo. “We’ve challenged assumptions, confronted hard realities, imagined new possibilities, and made deliberate choices in order to deliver exceptional experiences for our players and to drive sustained growth,” they added.
🔮 If the teens were charged as adults, it would carry a heavy sentence of 25 years to life.
🔮 The mayor of a town in the Fresno area tailed a hairstylist earlier this month, accusing him of secretly acting as an ICE agent in a bizarre “role-playing” scenario, according to a new complaint.
🔮 “The City will continue assessing conditions throughout the night to determine when the road can safely reopen.”
🔮 The developing phenomenon is already among the strongest on record by several measures, with forecasters warning it could intensify further as winter approaches, climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote in an Oct. 12 analysis for Weather West.
🔮 We take these allegations extremely seriously and will continue to assess the situation as more information becomes available.
🔮 The children were expected to work nearly 24/7, learning “math, Mandarin and English,” prosecutors said.
Also by Ross O'Keefe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 90 articles by Ross O'Keefe →

Topics

Corona FBI KTLA The Post the Corona Police Department

Subjects

FBI ORG · 6× KTLA ORG · 2× Montanez PERSON · 2× The Post ORG · 2× the Corona Police Department ORG · 2× California GPE · 1× Corona GPE · 1× Corona High School ORG · 1× Corona Police Department ORG · 1× Robert Montanez PERSON · 1×

Narrative

He said the FBI identified online communications discussing a “planned school attack” and the Los Angeles FBI field office moved “immediately,” identified those involved, and worked with local police to take the teens into custody.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 He added that investigators say the girls looked up how to obtain a firearm despite their young age and also discussed hunting license requirements and whether guns could be purchased online or obtained through other sources.

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

Corona police told KTLA that the two 15-year-old girls made “specific plans” to carry out a “revenge-based attack” at Corona High School. asserted
girls → tell → School
“They were trying to make specific plans as to how they were going to carry out this revenge-based attack,” Corona Police Department Lt. Robert Montanez told KTLA. asserted
Montanez → try → KTLA
“This was not joking around. asserted
This → joke → ?
This was not a one-off conversation,” Montanez added. asserted
Montanez → add → ?
He added that investigators say the girls looked up how to obtain a firearm despite their young age and also discussed hunting license requirements and whether guns could be purchased online or obtained through other sources. uncertain
guns → add → sources
The FBI flagged the social media discussions to police, who arrested one of the girls on Oct. 6 and the other on Oct. 20. asserted
who → flag → Oct.
Local police concluded no alleged attack was imminent despite their planning. “They were still very much in the planning stages,” Montanez said, adding no date had been set for the assault. asserted
date → conclude → assault
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that “a potential act of targeted violence against a Southern California high school was disrupted before anyone was harmed.” asserted
anyone → say → school
He said the FBI identified online communications discussing a “planned school attack” and the Los Angeles FBI field office moved “immediately,” identified those involved, and worked with local police to take the teens into custody. asserted
office → say → custody
“There is no greater priority than protecting our kids, and threats against our schools will be met with the full force of the FBI and our partners,” Patel added. asserted
Patel → be → FBI
The Riverside District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, they told The Post. asserted
they → review → Post
No charges have been filed at this time, they added, and they would not release the teens’ identities. asserted
they → file → identities
The office later informed The Post that “pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 676,” they would not say whether charges have been filed or release the identities of the teens. asserted
charges → inform → teens
“This provision protects the privacy of juveniles and supports the goal of rehabilitation by allowing young people the opportunity to redirect their lives toward a productive adulthood,” they added. asserted
they → protect → adulthood
Officials ranging from the FBI, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and school officials from the Corona-Norco Unified School District worked with the Corona Police Department on the case. asserted
Officials → range → case
The district noted neither girl has been on campus since the investigation began Oct. 6. asserted
investigation → note → campus
“We are grateful for the swift response of the Corona Police Department and their continued partnership throughout this investigation,” they wrote in a statement. asserted
they → continue → statement
“We understand that hearing news like this can be unsettling for families, and we want our parents to know that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. asserted
safety → understand → students
CNUSD has established safety protocols, monitoring systems, and strong partnerships with local law enforcement to help identify and respond to potential threats. asserted
CNUSD → establish → threats
“These measures are part of our ongoing commitment to providing safe and supportive learning environments for every student.” asserted
measures → provide → student
There is no current threat to the school, school officials said. asserted
officials → be → school
16-year-old Griffin John opened fire at an Oregon elementary school, killing three young children and a teacher. asserted
John → open → children
The teenager formerly went to the elementary school, and a heroic bystander shot him dead at the scene after he blasted into the school with a shotgun. asserted
he → go → shotgun
He allegedly killed 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, an 8-year-old, and an 11-year-old, along with teacher Megan Lambert, 25, in his old special education classroom. uncertain
He → kill → classroom
John’s motive is unclear, but he had a dark origin, growing up with an alcoholic father who beat the boy’s mother and threatened her with a knife before he was even born. uncertain
he → have → knife
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