Phoenix student arrested after threatening to 'blow up Muslim church'

Police arrested a Phoenix teenager who allegedly brought a chemical substance to school after telling a classmate that he wanted to blow up a Muslim worship center.

Officers arrested the 15-year-old Pinnacle High School student at his campus on Tuesday after students said they saw him with a "plastic bag containing several pounds of a white powdery substance," police said Wednesday.

School officials apprehended the boy and notified the Phoenix Police Department, which said the chemicals tested positive for potassium nitrate.

"The powdery substance was tested by EOD officers and it was determined that the substance was several pounds of potassium nitrate, which is a salt like substance," the department said in a statement Wednesday. "It is not dangerous by itself, but can be mixed with other chemicals to create a flash powder. The substance can be ordered through the mail."

Phoenix police said the incident didn't warrant a school lockdown because "the suspect made no threats against the school, and at this time, there is no indication that the school or anyone connected with the school was in danger."

Police did not offer details about the student's identity, but they said he allegedly told another student on Monday that he wanted to "blow up" a Muslim worship center.

Phoenix police officers responded to the complaint on Monday evening and interviewed the witness, but the suspect was not apprehended, according to the police statement.

"A juvenile witness reported to his parents that a classmate of his said, he wanted to 'blow up a Muslim Church,'" the police statement said. "The witness said he did not observe any weapons or devices that would allow the suspect to act upon his statement."

The boy was being held at the Phoenix police headquarters for questioning on Wednesday afternoon. Police did not say if charges would be filed over the incident.

ABC News' Alex Stone contributed to this report.