Tacoma teen booked for 10 felony counts after making school shooting threats, police say
TACOMA, Wash. - Police have arrested a 14-year-old they say made threats to shoot staff and students at a Tacoma school.
On June 7 around 3:45 p.m., staff at Northwest School of Innovative Learning called 911 regarding threats made by a student. The threats had been made to a staff member and a list of intended targets had been located, according to Tacoma Police.
The 14-year-old boy was arrested and booked into Remann Hall for 10 counts of felony harassment.
This is not the only school shooting threat the Tacoma area has seen in wake of Uvalde, Texas school shooting, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.
'We'd rather be safe than sorry:' FBI and WA lawmakers discuss evolving safety measures at school
Immediately following the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, several school related threats were reported in Western Washington. On Friday, the FBI and state lawmakers shared what the process to prevent copycat situations looks like, as well as how safety measures in the classroom are continuously evolving.
Last Friday, the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) announced they arrested a 13-year-old child for threatening to recreate the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Officials say copycat situations are unfortunately expected, however, these sorts of threats are not uncommon before the tragedy.
FOX 13 News discovered six other gun-related incidents in Tacoma Public Schools in about a month, and the majority of them happened before Uvalde:
- On May 5, TPD says security spotted a gun in a 14-year-old student’s backpack at Giaudrone Middle School. The student did not make any threats, or display the gun. The student was expelled and arrested.
- On May 10, a parent reported their 13-year-old brought a gun into Gray Middle School.
- On May 16, a student brought a realistic looking toy gun into Gray Middle School. That student was expelled.
- On May 25, a report came in that a student at Lincoln High School was pistol whipped by another student outside of the school.
- On June 1, security reported a student brought a gun into school in their backpack at Lincoln High School. Police say the gun in the student’s bag turned out to be stolen, and the student was arrested.
- On June 2, a 13-year-old threatened another student in the classroom, saying they were going to "re-create the school shooting in Uvalde". A parent found out and reported the incident late Thursday night. The 13-year-old was arrested for felony harassment.