16-year-old arrested after making threats against Sehome High School

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A 16-year-old student has been arrested after investigators linked him to three separate threats made at Sehome High School.

On Dec. 3, several Sehome high school students reported getting a message sent to their phones which said someone at the school was in possession of a gun.

Administrators were notified of the threats. They enacted safety protocols at the school and called Bellingham Police who started an investigation.

During the investigation of the initial threat, police confirmed that a student was in possession of a gun on campus. They arrested a 16-year-old student for having an airsoft Glock 17 replica on school grounds and referred charges to the prosecutor’s office. However, this student was not involved in sending the threatening messages.

On Dec. 6, students received another message, this time alleging that there was a bomb on school grounds. Bellingham police were called to the scene and continued their investigation, conducting interviews in an attempt to find who sent the messages.

A third threat was sent to students on Dec. 8. SHS administrators enacted safety protocols and continued to work with Bellingham police to identify the person sending the messages.

Following the forensic examination of several phones, the investigation focused on one student on Dec. 10. He and his parents were contacted by investigators. Following an interview, detectives developed probable cause for threats to bomb or injure property, a class B felony.

He was arrested and booked into the Whatcom County Juvenile Detention Facility. Investigators did not find a gun or bomb in the student’s possession.

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