Cottonwood – A middle school student was arrested by Cottonwood Police and charged with making “terrorist” threats against other students.
Mountain View Preparatory, part of the Cottonwood Oak Creek School District, called police after several students reported that a 13-year-old student said he was on a “kill list” on Wednesday.
The district and police department issued a simultaneous statement on the incident Friday morning.
The MVP is staffed with a “threat assessment team” that includes the principal, school counselor, CPD safety officer, and local prevention experts. They “reviewed the situation and determined the threat was credible,” the district said.
“Done. Our system worked,” C-OC director Steve King told The Verde Independent. “That’s the only silver lining to get out of this situation.”
After first hearing about the threats, principal Kelly Rhoda removed the accused student from class. After investigation by the threat assessment team, the student was sent home with an authorized adult.
Officers met with staff and students and said classmates had said they were either on the “kill list” or not. As rumors spread, students began asking classmates if they were on the so-called “kill list.”
Police spoke with the 13-year-old boy, who said there was “no evidence to support that there was a physical list.” .
The student was arrested on charges of threatening or threatening an educational institution, interfering or disrupting, and threatening terrorism. He was transferred to the Yavapai County Juvenile Detention Center on Thursday.
“The Cottonwood Police Department would like to thank the Cottonwood Oak Creek School District for their cooperation in responding to this incident,” CPD spokesperson Sgt. Chad Singh said in a news release. I’m here. “I would like to encourage parents to discuss with their children that threats of violence in our schools are taken seriously by school administrators and law enforcement. This situation is frustrating. and it is very important that parents, teachers and students feel safe.”
The C-OC district also encouraged parents to have an “open dialogue” with their children.
King said Friday that the government will also speak to students who have reported threats and will keep all students and parents informed of what happened and how it is being handled.
In Verde Valley, police investigations of student threats typically target high school students. Just last May, Mingus, his union senior, was indicted for making online threats against a student before he graduated, but the charges were later dropped because of a “low likelihood of conviction.” I was.
