A Fort Lupton High School senior was arrested Tuesday morning after he allegedly made threats over the Internet to pull off a Columbine-like massacre at the school.
The 17-year-old student, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, faces a misdemeanor charge of interfering with an educational institution. He was taken into custody about 7:50 a.m., just before he left to go to school, police said.
“He was upset with certain people and he was feeling he was being mistreated,” said interim Police Chief Ron Grannis.
Police learned of the threats Monday when a parent gave school resource officer David Hempel a printout of instant messages warning her daughter not to go to school on Valentine’s Day, Grannis said.
The instant messages stated that people were going to get hurt. “He was talking about weapons and what he was going to do with them,” Grannis said.
Police and school officials launched an investigation, and the FBI was asked to help. Agent Jeff Tricoli was able to track down the screen name used by the suspect and provided an address in Fort Lupton where the messages originated.
“We got him just as he was coming out the door,” Grannis said. “We did not want him in the school.”
Officers seized three computers at the home. School officials, meanwhile, randomly searched students’ coats and backpacks. No weapons related to the Internet messages were found.
Initially, it was thought more students were involved in the threats, but investigators found the boy was the only culprit, Grannis said.
Students were told at the start of classes that “we were going to a higher degree of security,” said Fort Lupton principal Mike Campbell. At the end of the school day, students were told that a threat had been made against the school, and a letter was sent home to parents.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
