COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A 14-year-old middle school student could face charges for making threats to “shoot up” Lakes Middle School in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday.
The threats were made on the first day back from summer break.
School district and police officials treat every threat seriously; they have to.
The student has been suspended, marking the first of potentially several consequences that lies ahead.
Coeur d’Alene Police are currently investigating the credibility of these threats. After speaking with the student’s parents, investigators do not believe the student had access to any guns and there is no active threat toward Lake Middle School students.
“Safety is always our number one priority,” said Thomas Gandy, the safety and security coordinator for the Coeur d’Alene School District.
The school district said the student won’t be allowed back on school grounds until after the investigation is complete. In the meantime, school officials are drafting a safety plan geared towards keeping an eye on this student when they return.
“Safety plans can include increased supervision, check-ins with school resource officers, random searches and regular scheduled searches,” Gandy said. “These safety plans are robust and in place before that student can come back to school. They must agree to it to be able to come back to school.”
Coeur d’Alene Police said the teen could face charges for this threat.
According to Idaho law, any person, including a student, who threatens to use a gun or other deadly weapon to do violence to any person on school grounds is guilty of a misdemeanor.
“When this type of incident happens, we’re going to file charges every single time we can,” said Coeur d’Alene Police Sergeant Jared Reneau. “Because it’s a serious incident that occurs.”
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