Police arrested a 13-year-old student after the suspect entered a Wisconsin elementary school with suspicious bags. The 13-year-old had searched for school shootings prior to his arrest and posted images of a black bag, possibly containing weapons, on social media. Reportedly, police were previously alerted about the teenager, but no actions were taken. The suspect has been charged with making terroristic threats.
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The unnamed suspect who will be prosecuted in juvenile court was arrested in his home after entering Roosevelt Elementary School on Thursday, November 7. Staff members alerted police after they began questioning the teenager, who later left. Kenosha Unified schools were placed on lockdown as a result until the suspect was arrested. It is currently unclear if the teenager was carrying weapons in the bags he brought to the school.
Police at the time claimed that they had no prior knowledge of any threats that the suspect had made. "When you see something, say something. Help us out," said Patrick Patton, Kenosha Police Department Chief. "This should have been reported to us earlier." However, it appears this could not be the case.
Threats Made, Action Taken?
One parent contacted TMJ4, an NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, and claimed that they had reported the teenager weeks before the teenager's arrest. According to the parent, his children received pictures from the suspect via Snapchat. They showed a bag with what looked to be a gun inside and a map of Mahone Elementary School. The outlet attempted to contact the authorities but was refused any interviews.
Chief Patton, during a press conference, stated that the 13-year-old suspect had searched for information related to school shootings. He then mentioned how students had received videos or had heard the suspect himself make threats. All of these were received, according to the police, after they asked for help in identifying the suspect.
"This is something that had been told to people of his growing intentions," said Patton. "We know that there is internet searches, and all the red flags that we would look for and expect someone to report were there."
Police later issued a statement, on Facebook on the very next day of the incident. "The Kenosha Police Department had reason to believe the suspect had access to some type of firearm based on videos on social media and other witness information," reads the statement.
"The actions on scene were extremely suspicious and the internet activity by the suspect suggested they had extensive research history related to previous school shootings, information on how to execute a school shooting, and specifics about the targeted building."
