Two Douglas County students were arrested Thursday for making threats in attempt to shut down their school on the April 20 anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.
Both students are accused of false reporting to authorities, a class 3 misdemeanor. One of the students was charged with interference with staff, faculty or students at an educational institution, which is a class 1 misdemeanor, and with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is a class 4 felony, the Douglas County Sheriff’s department said in a news release.
The sheriff’s department and Douglas County School District investigated many threats to a few schools in the district this week. All of the threats were investigated and found to be not-credible.
In the release, the sheriff’s department noted that it takes a “zero-tolerance approach” to false reporting, which includes fake reports made to , and .
However, the release also noted that if a student believes they have learned of a legitimate threat they should contact the staff at the school or the sheriff’s department. “No student will be punished for reporting information that they believe to be true,” the release said.
During the received 5,821 reports, up 68 percent from the year before. Most of the reports were about suicide, bullying and drugs. Safe2Tell is run by the Colorado Attorney General’s office.
