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By Samantha Bartholomew
Prosecutors have identified and charged Mohammad Sameem Yaqubi, 23, with making a false bomb threat at Cerritos College on Sept. 3.
Yaqubi is being charged with two felonies: malicious informing of a false bomb and resisting arrest, as well as a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. If convicted, he faces four years in county jail.
Yaqubi’s arrest comes after he allegedly ran into a classroom and made a bomb threat at Cerritos College on Sept. 3 that initiated an approximately two-hour lockdown.
The school initially ordered students to shelter in place following a reported possible threat to campus shortly before 12:30 p.m., officials said.
“This is not a drill,” the college tweeted. “Please take cover until further notice.”
In a follow-up tweet, school officials described the incident as a bomb threat and said it was “contained” to a drop-off area near the Administration Building.
According to the police department, a sheriff’s arson and explosives team was dispatched to the scene. People were urged to avoid the Administration Building, as well as parking lots 3 and 4, which were all evacuated amid the investigation.
Other areas remained on lockdown until the incident was “resolved” and “rendered safe,” according to a tweet from the sheriff’s Norwalk Station.
One person identified as a suspect has been detained, the department said.
Around 1:45 p.m., the school announced it had canceled all remaining classes for the day.
According to college President Jose Fierro, the threat occurred at 11:53 a.m., when the person “walked into one of our classrooms and said that he was a terrorist and had a bomb with him.”
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information Center, his bail is set at $25,000 and is to appear at the Bellflower Courthouse on Sept. 6, but was a no-show.
