Fort Bragg school custodian arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot people on campus

A 36-year-old Fort Bragg High School custodian faces at least one felony charge after allegedly making a threat directed at the Mendocino County high school.

Staff at the high school told Fort Bragg police late Tuesday morning they became aware of a potential threat to the campus, and police officers quickly located the suspect, Police Chief Fabian Lizarraga said.

Brandon Williamson, 36, was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats and may face additional firearms-related charges, Lizarraga said. The chief declined to comment on the nature of the threat.

Officers pulled over the man’s vehicle about 90 minutes after learning of the threat and took him into custody before executing a search warrant at his house. They found and seized 16 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and high-capacity magazines, said Lizarraga, who added that the man’s relatives described him as a firearms collector.

“Based on the remarks that he made, and coupled with such a large arsenal, it gave us cause for concern,” Lizarraga said.

High school officials did not lock down the campus after learning of the threat because the man was not at school at the time the threat was made and there were no signs of any weapons at the school, Principal Bruce Triplett said.

Williamson, who had worked in the school district since 2015, made a general verbal threat to shoot people at school, Triplett said. It was unclear if the suspect still worked for the school after his arrest.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.