SAN DIEGO — An 18-year-old Maryland man was arrested Friday night for allegedly sending threatening computer messages to two teenage girls in Santee after Monday's shooting rampage that left two dead and 13 wounded, officials announced.
Patrick Andrew Smith was arrested in his parents' home in Walkersville, Md., a suburb of Baltimore, at the same hour a memorial service was underway at Sonrise Community Church in Santee for Randy Gordon, 17, and Brian Zuckor, 14.
Smith allegedly sent instant messages to a student at Santana High School and one to a student at West Hills High, warning them not to go to school because he planned to "finish what Andy didn't complete."
Charles Andrew Williams, 15, is charged with firing more than 30 shots at Santana High as school opened Monday, picking targets at random.
On Friday afternoon, Williams' family issued a statement offering condolences to the victims and their relatives and saying that the family "would like all of you to know that they were horror-stricken by the events . . . and they remain shocked and confused.'
The statement, issued by the San Diego public defender's office, which is representing Williams, offered no clue about the boy's motives.
Also on Friday, more than 2,500 people, including Gov. Gray Davis and his wife, Sharon, a 1972 graduate of Santana High, filled the Sonrise Community Church in a tribute to the two slain teenagers.
"No harm should ever befall anyone in school," Davis said. "No one should ever bring a gun to school. These young boys were taken from us by an act of unspeakable evil."
The governor urged parents to "replace a culture of violence with a culture of values."
Country-western singer Dennis Agajanian sang to the gathering. He also performed at a memorial for victims of the shootings at Columbine, where 14 students and a teacher died in 1999.
At the Santee memorial, a grief-stricken Santana High principal Karen Dejisher said only, "I don't understand why this happened."
Although Williams lived about 20 miles from Walkersville, Md., for several years, authorities said they have discovered no connection between him and Smith.
Smith is also suspected of sending a threatening computer message to a student at Columbine High School on Tuesday, similar to those sent to the Santee teenagers.
