A 15-year-old Ontario student is being held on felony charges in connection with threatening to use a firearm on school grounds.
The juvenile, who lives in New Plymouth, was arrested on Oct. 10 and appeared in Payette County Magistrate Court on Oct. 15. His mother is a teacher in the Ontario district.
The threat dates back to Sept. 19 but Ontario School District officials only a month later commented publicly. On Friday, Oct. 18, Superintendent Nikki Albisu issued a statement in a newsletter to parents after news reports appeared about the arrest.
Albisu provided no details about the crime, but explained that security across the school district has been ramped up.
“You may have noticed increased police presence on our campuses, additional staff and parent supervision, heightened security during homecoming/events, the presence of larger law enforcement entities, etc.,” her statement said. “These outward measures, along with those that go unnoticed, are taken to ensure that we are always on top of student safety, even outside of school hours.”
The boy, not identified by authorities because he is a juvenile, has been charged with threatening violence on school grounds, aggravated assault, a Terrorist Control Act violation and possession of sexually exploitive material.
Albisu and Taryn Smith, the district’s communications coordinator, did not respond to written questions about the matter. Albisu has a practice of not responding to inquiries from the Enterprise.
The case was investigated by the Oregon State Police, the Ontario Police Department and the FBI with the arrest by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department.
Payette County Sheriff Andy Creech said in a Monday, Oct. 21, phone interview that he could not get into the nature of the threats the student had made. He said someone associated with the student was concerned enough to bring the matter to authorities.
“There was a person who’s familiar with and knows the suspect, and had been having conversations with them,” he said, but declined to elaborate.
Creech said as part of a search warrant, law enforcement seized several items that revealed digital evidence that supported the allegations that the student had made credible threats.
Incidental to the investigation, Creech said law enforcement found child pornography or “something of that nature.” Creech said it was not just internet pornography that police found.
Mike Duke, Payette County prosecuting attorney, didn’t respond to telephone messages on Friday and Monday seeking comment.
Authorities released no details about the nature of the threat or if it a specific Ontario school was identified.
Ontario school officials in the past have alerted parents directly to threats but it’s not clear if they did so after learning of the 15-year-old’s case.
The district on Sept. 30 published a statement on its website that generally discussed school threats.
“We have a duty to report to parents when threats are made, even when they are false threats. When we send these notices, we are sharing them to let you know that OSD staff, in cooperation with local/state/federal law enforcement, have deemed our buildings safe for students and staff,” the statement said. “You have likely noticed an increase in threats both nationwide and within our district.”
There was no mention of the gun threat.
Smith repeated that statement in the district’s newsletter of Oct. 3. The newsletter made no mention of the 15-year-old’s threat.
In Friday’s statement, Albisu explained that with “local news media highlighting the court proceedings and details of a New Plymouth resident linked to the Ontario School District,” administrators wanted to “reassure” the community of its “unwavering commitment” to safety.
“This is why we investigate every tip to the fullest potential and are not shy about involving state and local law enforcement,” she said.
Creech said he does not know if the student would have acted on the threats.
“Only time would tell whether or not anything would have been acted on,” he said.
Given the details, he said that had the student acted, the results would have been “really, really horrible for the Ontario School District and for any other school district that may have ended up being involved.”
Creech said people should look for ways to submit anonymous tips if they hear something that concerns them. In Oregon, people can submit anonymous tips about such threats by calling or texting 844-472-3367 or by emailing [email protected].
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell to [email protected].
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