Teen Arrested For Threats Against University Place Schools

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA — A 14-year-old Curtis Junior High School student was arrested Friday in connection with threats against four University Place schools made the night before on Instragram. The boy was reportedly charged with threats to bomb or injure — a Class B felony in Washington with a maximum punishment of 10 years incarceration and a $20,000 fine.

The unidentified minor is believed to have acted alone, Pierce County Sheriff's officials said, noting the boy did not appear to actually have access to any weapons, concluding the threats were not credible.

Pierce County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the four University Place schools Friday in response to the threats reportedly made on Instagram Thursday night.

Both the sheriff's office and school district previously released statements acknowledging threats were made, but both also indicated they had no reason to believe the threats were credible at the time. Stationing deputies at the school was strictly a precaution, officials said.

Racist language and references to the Ku Klux Klan were married to statements like "everyone is going to die" and the phrase "shoot up the school" in the Instagram post, according to a letter sent home to University School District families.

"There are many aspects of the posted message that are troubling to us," District Superintendent Jeff Chamberlin wrote in a Friday update to his previous messaging. "I want to state clearly that we find the racially offensive remarks associated with this threat to be appalling, unacceptable and totally at odds with the mission, culture and values of UPSD … (and) we want to be clear (that) the racial remarks included in the post have no place in our schools or society."

Sheriff's officials early Friday morning said they'd identified the location from which the threat originated and were continuing to investigate the situation.

The boy's arrest was announced around 12:45 p.m.

"We will continue to communicate updates to parents and staff through email as new information is available," UPSD officials said in a statement. "We appreciate your patience with this matter and we understand that some parents may wish to keep students home from school as a precaution. While we do not feel that this is necessary, these absences will be excused."

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