Former student arrested in Skyline High School shooting threat
»Play Video
SAMMAMISH, Wash. -- Police have arrested a 16-year-old former Skyline High School student who is suspected of posting a threat to shoot people during the school day, officials said.
The teenage suspect was arrested early Tuesday at his home in Edmonds for investigation of cyber-stalking and harassment.
According to a letter sent to parents from Principal Lisa Hechtman, investigators do not believe the suspect had "active plans or means" to carry out the attack but they are taking the threat very seriously.
Classes at the school were cancelled September 20 after a person claiming to be a Skyline student posted online that he was going to take his father's gun to school and "open fire on the people in the commons in the morning until I am either taken down by our school's police officer, or until I run out of mags."
The threat was quickly circulated on various social media platforms, and several people notified police.
Detectives traced the post to a proxy server in Sweden, which was used to hide the poster's location.
At a news conference on Tuesday, officials said it was information from other students given to the school resource officer at Skyline that eventually helped lead police to the suspect.
Investigators served a search warrant last week at the teen's home and seized three computers and two cell phones, but no guns were found. Officials said evidence from one of the computers taken in the search linked the teen to the threat made against the school.
"That picture, as well as the source of that picture, were found on the suspect's computer," said Sammamish Police Chief Nate Elledge.
Sammamish Police Sgt. Jessica Sullivan said detectives also found evidence indicating that the suspect made a similar threat against Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood last spring.
Elledge said the teen did not seem surprised when police knocked on his door. Skyline students also said they're not surprised by the arrest.
Hechtman said the boy only attended Skyline for a year, but some students have known him for years.
"Well he was a big trouble maker all through middle school," said student Sadie Luther.
The teenage suspect was arrested early Tuesday at his home in Edmonds for investigation of cyber-stalking and harassment.
According to a letter sent to parents from Principal Lisa Hechtman, investigators do not believe the suspect had "active plans or means" to carry out the attack but they are taking the threat very seriously.
Classes at the school were cancelled September 20 after a person claiming to be a Skyline student posted online that he was going to take his father's gun to school and "open fire on the people in the commons in the morning until I am either taken down by our school's police officer, or until I run out of mags."
The threat was quickly circulated on various social media platforms, and several people notified police.
Detectives traced the post to a proxy server in Sweden, which was used to hide the poster's location.
At a news conference on Tuesday, officials said it was information from other students given to the school resource officer at Skyline that eventually helped lead police to the suspect.
Investigators served a search warrant last week at the teen's home and seized three computers and two cell phones, but no guns were found. Officials said evidence from one of the computers taken in the search linked the teen to the threat made against the school.
"That picture, as well as the source of that picture, were found on the suspect's computer," said Sammamish Police Chief Nate Elledge.
Sammamish Police Sgt. Jessica Sullivan said detectives also found evidence indicating that the suspect made a similar threat against Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood last spring.
Elledge said the teen did not seem surprised when police knocked on his door. Skyline students also said they're not surprised by the arrest.
Hechtman said the boy only attended Skyline for a year, but some students have known him for years.
"Well he was a big trouble maker all through middle school," said student Sadie Luther.
When I read between the lines, the proxy server(s) in Sweden may have done the job they were expected to do. In this caper it sounds like loose lips may have sank his ship, rather than any true internet investigative techniques.
@Harrison the proxies did their jobs. The key to "events" like this is to keep your damned mouth shut. Bragging always gets you caught. But most people can't keep things in confidence, they just can't stand having "important information" and not able to share it for whatever reason.
Something like this was utterly unthinkable just a few decades ago.Â
Â
Now it's fairly common. How sad that society has come to this.
 @TheTruncheon Also- don't forget it was young people who alerted authorities immediately upon seeing his post on 4chan.
 @two loons Okay. Let me rephrase that. Media coverage or not, these tragedies are certainly much more common now than in the past.
 @TheTruncheon 1987 a boy in my high school not only thought of it, but did it. Not sure this is as new as you think - just more widely known due to a glut of media outlets that were not previously available during the pre-internet days. But I sense you're probably talking about a few decades earlier - recall anything happening in Austin, TX in 1966? And, here's a wiki on the history of school shootings - goes back to the 1800s, just scroll down to about the middle of the wiki for a timeline:
Â
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting
Great commentary by the school officer "seemed like a normal teenager." Normal teenagers don't threaten to kill their classmates and the classmates didn't seem surprised who the student was... Nice work. Â
I hope this young man gets the help it seems he is so desperately seeking.Â
This kids in a lot of trouble. Â What a dope... Â Going to cost mom and dad a ton in lawyer fees.
Why weren't the Feds involved in this terrorist attack? All should know that they have the capability to dial each and everyone of us at our home address.
Proxies, lots of anonymous proxies, open wifi hotspots with a removable wifi card you can toss. Nonetheless threats like this are sick. My kid freaked out because of this turds behavior. Throw the books at him with federal terrorism charges.
You need at least 7 proxies to post things like that.
NAT'd IP address. Remote Proxy. Only to have Social Networking to bust him. Hilarious. Oh... put the punk away for a looooooong time. Considering today's society and the lack of discipline, ethics and morals, this is not remotely funny. Buh-bye loser.
Idiot needs to learn how to cover his tracks before trying to pull a stupid prank, one proxy server in Sweden is not going to get the job done
@Larry*X*K His mistake was that he left enough in his threat for people to connect the dots. All the technology in the world can't compensate for stupidiy.
Doesn't matter if he meant it or not, it's still a threat. And considering this exact same stuff has happened way more than enough, obviously the threat will be taken very seriously, as it should!
he probably thought it was funny. well, the joke's on him. haha!
It's spelled moron....you know the rest.
Â
 @Wazzup There's moron, and there's also "maroon." Look it up.
@Zoso @Wazzup Bugs Bunny "What a maroon!!!
Hahaha - I remember that one!
What a maroon...Did this little wanker actually think he could get away with this!?!?! I'll be his family is soooooo proud of his accomplishments. This kid will never amount to anything but the loser he is and will probably continue to weasel his way through life, making bad choices that negatively effect others around him. You reap what you sow loser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo
What a loser. He's lucky he's 16 and not 18.Â
I think that fact that he did attempt to hide his identity makes it obvious that he knew what he was doing and knew the seriousness of this threat. I hope he is locked up for a long long time.  I'm afraid that more than likely if he only gets a slap on the wrist, he will become even more dangerous. What he did is not something a normal person would do.
I'm not sure that simply hiding his identity shows malicious intent. The threat itself is malicious enough and I would imagine borders on making terrorstic threats. Having done it online there could be Federal charges I would imagine. I am very curious to see what else materializes with the arrest.
When he posted that message on 4chan, it had spread all over the internet and to the Issaquah school district in a matter of 2 hours. He was a fool to think he was posting anonymously.Â
What a putz. Charge him as an adult and let him serve a little time. The fact he's hiding his identify shows a malicious intent, and it's not some joke or prank.