Pennsylvania Student Stockpiled Weaponry, Threatened School Shooting

Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested an 18-year-old student for allegedly threatening to attack his high school.

CBS News reports Taiwanese national An-Tso Sun was making threats about shooting up his Darby County high school, Bonner Prendergast Catholic High School.

"He told a fellow student, 'Don't come to school on May 1 because I'm going to shoot up the school,' and then he said, 'I'm kidding,'" said police superintendent Michael Chitwood.

After receiving the concerns, police searched the home of his host family and discovered an arsenal of ammunition, including a military-style ballistic vest, web gear which includes a backpack and pouches to hold ammo clips, a type of cold weather gear, a high-powered crossbow with scope and light and seven arrows, a loading dock for AR-15s and AK-47s, a wooden box made for a homemade gun, 20 live rounds of 9mm ammunition, a military ski mask, ear protectors, and a garrote described as "a strangling device."

Police also discovered Sun, who arrived on a 5-year student visa last July, also asked a fellow student how to buy the gun and purchased majority of the items online. Their investigation also includes evidence that Sun was looking to buy an assault rifle.

CBS News attempted contact with Sun's host mother, Valerie Hibbert, who had no comment as she "considers him her son."

Since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February, there have been more than 1,400 "school-based incidents and threats" made, many through social media as reported by the Educator's School Safety Network, a group that tracks school safety.

Of the 83 total incidents, a gun was discovered in 40 cases, with 12 classified as "thwarted plots."

Sun's attorney, Enrique Latoison, tells CBS "it's all a misunderstanding," adding that the teenager wanted to be a police officer and had used some of the items found in his home as a Halloween costume.

If Sun is convicted of the misdemeanor charge, he could face up to five years in prison.

Photo credit: Twitter / @CBS