Sebastian Bailey Villaseñor, an 18-year-old accused of attempted murder, appeared in Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday. Represented by the San Bernardino County Public Defender’s Office, Villaseñor faced five counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted criminal threats. Judge Arthur Benner II entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf.
During the hearing, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Joe Gaetano successfully argued for Villaseñor to be held without bail, citing the defendant’s potential danger to the community. Gaetano revealed that Villaseñor followed Hitler’s beliefs and expressed a dislike for minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals. The prosecutor also identified additional potential targets that had not been disclosed during a previous news conference.
These revelations have raised concerns among advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. Terra Russell-Slavin, the chief impact officer at the Los Angeles LGBT Office, expressed her belief that the accused’s extremist ideologies are part of a larger attack against LGBTQ+ communities across the country. Russell-Slavin attributed the rise in violence to the internalization of verbal and legislative attacks against these groups.
Villaseñor’s alleged plot to attack a school came to light when a brave student reported the information to school employees. Investigators discovered that Villaseñor had a fixation on school shootings and had access to multiple firearms. A search of his home resulted in the seizure of seven rifles, three handguns, a shotgun, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition. The weapons were legally owned by Villaseñor’s father, who is not under investigation.
According to Police Chief Michael Lorenz, Villaseñor had meticulously planned the attack, mapping out the distance between the Ontario police station and the targeted school to estimate police response times. The Ontario Christian School was the intended location for the shooting. Despite not being considered troubled or a loner, Villaseñor struggled with forming relationships and social interactions.
