GREAT FALLS — A juvenile from Great Falls was arrested after reportedly making threats against students and faculty at Simms High School.
The Cascade County Sheriff's Office said that deputies were dispatched just after 11 p.m. on Sunday, January 30, 2022, to a residence to investigate a report of a threatened school shooting.
Deputies were able to see text messages making "violent threats" against students and faculty.
The deputies identified the suspect and arrested him. During a formal interview - which was done in the presence of his father - the suspect admitted to sending the messages.
Court documents state:
At approximately 2219 hours, the victim received text messages from an unknown number. Several messages later, the victim was advised,"I'm just letting you know now, stay home tomorrow there will be a school shooting at Simms high school., If you tell anyone but your friends, I'll come and kill all of you." The victim then again asked who it was, and was replied with don't tell anyone to include teachers or principals. The victim then received another text saying she had until 11 pm to send full nude photos. The victim did not answer, then received several more text messages, which she did not respond to. Several messages later, the victim received a "one of your final warnings" stating he was very impatient, and “no one likes when I get impatient.” The victim was also in contact with several other friends from Simms school, who were receiving the same messages.
He was taken to the Cascade County Juvenile Detention Center, and is facing a charge of felony intimidation.
The Sheriff's Office noted: "ln order to provide integrity to the case, further details will not be released at this time. Detectives, and Simms School Resource Officer Shawn Baker are confident the threat to Simms 6-12 school has been identified and resolved. Sun River Valley District Administration has determined that will be no change in school schedules as a result of this incident."
MTN is not releasing the name of the suspect due to his age, and the fact that no one was injured and the threat was not carried out.
