Threat against US Open of Surfing leads to arrest

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Police in Southern California have arrested a 16-year-old boy who made a threat on social media against this weekend’s U.S. Open of Surfing.

Huntington Beach police said Saturday that the teenager was arrested Friday evening at his home in Huntington Beach and booked on suspicion of making a terrorist threat. He is not being identified because he is a minor.

Police confiscated a handgun and a shotgun from the home, as well as his electronic devices.

Police are not disclosing what social-media outlet the teen used to make the threats or the nature of the threat.

The teen is telling police he wasn’t serious and was just “messing around.”

The U.S. Open of Surfing attracts huge crowds each summer.

A riot last year means tight security and scaled-back activities this weekend.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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