Crime & Safety

Update: Sheriff's Department Arrests Man in Connection With Campus Shooting Threat

In an email, the man allegedly said he wanted to commit a campus shooting at Cal Lutheran.

Updated at 11:30 p.m.—Thousand Oaks Police on Tuesday arrested a Ventura man on suspicion of making criminal threats to California Lutheran University.

On May 1, university employees reported receiving an email from Thomas Pecel, 30, indicating he wanted to commit a campus shooting, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

The school sent a message to students the next day letting them know about the threat.

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"CLU received a threatening email and although we don’t know if it is a credible threat, we want to alert you to the situation," the note, signed by CLU president Chris Kimball, said.

Along with the notice, the school included photos of the suspect, asking students to call 9-1-1 if they saw him on campus.

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After investigating, the law enforcement officials obtained evidence corroborating Pecel did in fact send the email, the Sheriff's Department said.

It went on to say Pecel's bail was booked into a pre-trial detention facility and his set at $25,000 pending arraignment in Superior Court.


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