STOCKTON, Calif. — Five suspects were taken into custody Wednesday on weapons charges after they allegedly discharged flares around Creekside Elementary School, according to Stockton police.
The arrests were made after Stockton Police Vice Detectives and a Stockton Police School Resource Officer conducted surveillance in the area. Officers initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle at Thornton Road and Aberdeen Avenue around 12:20 p.m. Police arrested Nathan Nakham, 18, a 17-year-old male, a 16-year-old male and two 15-year-old males.
A flare gun was seen inside the vehicle.
The Stockton Police Department said on Feb. 2, a suspect launched a flare toward the playground of Creekside Elementary School. According to police, the suspect was on the levy which borders the school on the north side when they launched the flare. The suspect was never identified or arrested.
Joe Vela says his daughters were at the elementary school playing on the playground when the flare was launched.
"The flare went flew right over her (his daughter) and a couple of her friend's heads," Vela said. "They went on a hard lockdown."
The lockdown was lifted soon after Stockton police arrived on scene, according to the school district, but Vela says incidents at the school, in the days after, kept him and other parents on high alert.
The next day, the Stockton Police Department received another report of a flare being launched near the school at 2:28 p.m., around the time that students are dismissed from classes.
Days later, on Feb. 7, another police report was taken at the school on reports that someone launched a flare again near dismissal time.
Police have not released any further information following the arrests.
