A Navy medic was in custody Wednesday afternoon after authorities said he had gone AWOL from the Camp Pendleton Marine Corp base where he left notes in his quarters claiming he planted explosive devices at nearby San Clemente High School.
The notes prompted officials to evacuate 3,200 students and 180 staff members on their first day of school.
Authorities didn't immediately know what the connection might be, but the San Onofre gate to Camp Pendleton is just a couple of miles from the high school.
Camp Pendleton notified police around 8:45 a.m. when when 22-year-old Daniel Morgan went AWOL and didn't show up for work, Lt. Steve Doan of the San Clemente Police Department, told NBC station KNBC.
Morgan later turned himself in at the hospital on Camp Pendleton and was in military police custody, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday afternoon.
Inside the corpsman's room, officials found a note saying he had placed an incendiary device "in and around" the campus of San Clemente High School, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for Orange County Sheriff's Department.
"We're going room by room, inch by inch searching for any explosive devices," Amormino said. "We're taking this extremely seriously."
After the school gymnasium was cleared, students were allowed inside to escape the hot sun. Officials planned to release them to go home early.
Air support and hazardous device crews were on scene assessing the situation.
Traffic was jammed near the school and officials asked parents and other community members not go to the campus. Security personnel were prohibiting entry.
Police were searching for the corpsman, who was last seen around 5 p.m. Tuesday.
"The only connection that we can put together this far is that San Clemente High School is very close to Camp Pendleton," said Amormino.
Morgan was described as a white male with glasses and owner of a white Jeep Wrangler with a black top, license plate 6NKZ930, Amormino said.
