MONROVIA – While the country is still reeling from the mass murder that happened this week in Washington DC, 26-year-old Gerardo Cortez was arrested Tuesday at his home in Monrovia, accused of making at least five calls threatening to shoot people at several schools, a hospital, and shopping mall with an AK-47. And apparently he made similar threats just last year. A joint press release from the Arcadia, Covina and Monrovia Police Departments, the LA County Sheriff, and the FBI detailed the activities that led to his arrest.
Santa Fe Middle School was on of the first to get a threat
Last Monday, September 9th, the Covina Police Department received a call threatening the Citrus Medical Center, which does not actually exist in the area. However, they searched the Intercommunity Hospital for a potential threat, and alerted both Glendora Police, who searched the Foothill Presbyterian Hospital, and West Covina Police, who searched the Queen of the Valley Hospital and East San Gabriel Hospice. None of these searches turned up anything or anyone suspicious.
On the same Monday, Monrovia Police got a call threatening the Sante Fe Middle School, which resulted in an immediate search and lockdown, with again no results.
The next day a call was made to the Westfield Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia with threats to enter the mall with an AK47 and shoot people. Arcadia Police, with the help of Pasadena Police conducted an extensive search of the facility, and remained on scene until after the mall closed at 9 pm, and followed up with an additional interior search at 10:20, with no results. The same day, at 1:45 pm, a call came into the Duarte Station of the LA Sheriffs with a threat to shoot students at Duarte High School. Sheriffs immediately responded there and at Northview Intermediate School, placing them both on immediate lockdown while searches were made. Parents were alerted and told to pick up their kids at the nearby Best Buy parking lot once safety was insured.
Duarte High School also faced threats and a lockdown
Apparently taking Wednesday off, the caller was active again on Thursday, when the threat came to Arcadia High School, as they were told that the caller had a gun on campus. The school was again locked down for the search, and students were eventually released and bussed to Arcadia County Park under police protection, where parents were told to wait for them.
Agencies in the Greater San Gabriel Valley quickly collaborated as the pattern emerged, and Arcadia, Covina and Monrovia Police Departments, the LA County Sheriff’s investigators from the Temple Station, Major Crimes Bureau along with the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force joined together in response. Advanced technology and investigation led them to Cortez, who was arrested at his Monrovia home as he left the location at about 4 pm this Tuesday, September 17th. Their investigation into his activities continues as a search warrant was served at his home.
Records show that Cortez was convicted last summer in a case involving bomb threats made to a Pasadena Middle School, a local post office and a government building. He was sentenced to 486 days in jail for those crimes, but released before his entire sentence was served.
Cortez was booked at the Monrovia Police Department on five counts of felony making criminal threats, and five counts of false report of an emergency. His bail was set at $250,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. No motive for the threats has been determined, and the investigation continues. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Monrovia Police at 626-256-8041, or anonymously calling LA Crime stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or texting TIPLA to CRIMES (274637) or via lacrimestoppers.org.
According to the press release, the agencies involved took the investigation very seriously. The threats brought fear to students, faculty, parents, patients and medical staff, as well as the surrounding community, especially in light of the Washington DC incident. Agencies have vowed to continue handling threats like this in a very serious manner.
Read More:
Monrovia Patch: Monrovia Man Arrested in Suspicion of Making Gun Threats
San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Man arrested in suspicion of making gun threats that targeted San Gabriel Valley Schools
LA Times: Monrovia man arrested in San Gabriel Valley AK-47 threats
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