4:55 p.m. Tuesday update
The arrest of a Columbus East student for making a threat against the high school was one of two in southern Indiana made this afternoon.
In Scott County, a female juvenile was arrested Tuesday afternoon after threats were made at Austin High School on Monday and on social media Monday night, according to the Indiana State Police.
State Police Detective Matt Busick from the Sellersburg post was called to the high school after a student made an alleged threat to harm others, the agency announced Tuesday afternoon.
As Busick was working with school and Austin City Police Department officials about the incident at school, the female juvenile began posting other alleged threats on a popular social media page, said Sgt. Jerry Goodin, State Police public information officer at the Sellersburg post.
Busick completed his investigation and presented it to the Scott County Prosecutor’s Office Tuesday morning, requesting a pick-up order on the female juvenile, Goodin said. The order was granted by the Scott County Circuit Court and the female was arrested and transported to the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center in Jeffersonville, he said. She was charged with three counts of juvenile delinquency/intimidation.
The Scott County girl’s name, address and photo were being withheld because she is a juvenile, Goodin said.
Read Wednesday’s Republic for more details.
3:05 p.m. Tuesday update
The age or grade in school of a Columbus East High School student accused of making a threat against the school on Tuesday is not being immediately released, Columbus police said.
There’s no indication at this time that students who return for classes on Wednesday that they face any danger, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
“We want to give credit to students who brought this to the attention of law-enforcement and school staff,” Harris said. “They took that seriously, as did law enforcement. Regardless of the intentions of the student who sent the message, we’re going to take that very seriously in light of recent events. Anyone considering sending any type of message should strongly consider the words they use because of concerns across the community and across the country due to violence we’re seeing in schools and businesses.
The student claimed in the social media post that he was going to “shoot up the school” in two days, Harris said.
2:50 p.m. Tuesday update
The Columbus Police Department said it is is investigating a threat made via social media by a high school student earlier today to shoot up the school in two days. The message was allegedly sent to several students using the social media platform Snapchat, said Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the department.
The juvenile believed to have sent the message was taken into custody at Columbus East High School without incident and transported to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center on a preliminary charge of intimidation, a Level 6 felony, Harris said.
The Columbus Police Department’s investigation into this incident is ongoing, he said.
2:25 p.m. Tuesday update
Larry Perkinson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee and student assistance coordinator, said he was notified of the threat at Columbus East School about 12:40 p.m. today.
The high school itself was notified about 10 minutes earlier, with students reporting what they had seen on Snapchat.
Perkinson said the message, sent by a Columbus East male student, implied that the individual was going to “shoot up the school,” Perkinson said.
Within 5 minutes of the high school being notified, a Columbus East dean, Michael McBride, and Columbus Police Department resource officer Julie Quesenbery went to the student’s classroom and isolated him from other students in a private area.
No evacuation or lockdown was utilized, Perkinson said.
The alert was distributed to quickly notify parents and others of the matter, he said.
In light of the Feb. 14 school shootings in Florida, Perkinson said people are aware of dangerous things that can happen on a school property.
2:14 p.m. Tuesday
An alert from the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. indicates that a threat has been made against Columbus East High School.
The alert, sent just after 2 p.m., indicated that the threat was made in a group Snapchat post and was reported by students.
BCSC Safety Alert pic.twitter.com/ibEKRDXr6H
— BCSC (@bcscschools) February 20, 2018
The student responsible for making the threat has been identified and isolated, with law enforcement involved, according to the alert.
“Threats and/or intimidation will not be tolerated by BCSC,” the series concluded.
This story will be updated.
