Death Threat Forces School To Take Action Two Teens Taken Into Custody Following Separate Incidents

Police used an impromptu fire drill at St. Maries High School to take a student into protective custody Thursday morning after he allegedly threatened to shoot the school’s principal during graduation activities.

A second student was arrested for threatening a classmate with a knife, authorities said.

The students, both juniors, are friends, but the events were unrelated, said Principal Jerry Bayley.

Neither will be in class today for the last day of school, Bayley said. Officers will stand guard during this morning’s graduation practice and during Saturday’s commencement ceremony, authorities said.

“One kid said he was going to shoot me at graduation and he didn’t care how many seniors he took out,” Bayley said.

Authorities did not release the identity of either student because they are 17 years old, a St. Maries police sergeant said.

“We’re pretty confident that it’s an isolated incident and there are no other students involved,” said Benewah County Undersheriff Jeanne Miller.

Reports on both incidents are being reviewed by prosecutors, who will decide if formal charges will be filed, Miller said. However, it was unclear Thursday whether the boy who made the threats could be charged with a crime.

“We’ve researched (Idaho) code and can’t find anything that specifically addresses the situation,” Miller said.

Prosecutor Douglas Payne did not return a message left at his office.

Bayley, who will retire today after 27 years as principal, said a parent called him at home Wednesday night to warn him of the threat. He dismissed it as rumor until hearing similar reports at school.

Another parent called the high school’s athletic director Thursday morning to report the threat. When a student came to Bayley’s office and teachers said they had heard similar comments from other students, the principal called police.

Officers investigated the claims and asked school administrators to call a fire drill to draw the boy outside, where he was taken into custody, Bayley said.

He was driven to Coeur d’Alene for a psychological evaluation, Miller said. The undersheriff said the student told authorities he never intended to act on the threat.

“He told the police that he didn’t have anything against me and he was just shooting his mouth off,” Bayley said. “It’s kind of like making a smart remark in an airport, everything is taken seriously these days.”

While questioning the boy’s friends, police learned the second student had threatened a classmate with a knife. Officers questioned that boy and arrested him when it was determined he was carrying a knife, Bayley said.

The rest of the students were returned to class and teachers were briefed about the situation Thursday afternoon, Bayley said.

“In light of the problems the rest of the country’s having we figured we had better act on this right away,” Miller said.

Administrators will ask the school board to expel the student who threatened a classmate because he violated school rules by bringing a knife to the campus.

WHAT’S NEXT It was not known how the student who made the threat would be disciplined. School policy does not specifically forbid threatening administrators.