Bellingham 12-year-old arrested, detained following reports of school-shooting threats
Police arrested a 12-year-old Bellingham student Thursday night following reports of threats to bring a firearm and “shoot up the school.”
Officers responded to a home in the Birchwood neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, and interviewed multiple adults and children, according to Claudia Murphy of the Bellingham Police Department. Investigators developed probable cause to arrest the child on suspicion of four counts of felony harassment.
“Students were placed in reasonable fear this threat could be carried out and reported their fear appropriately to a responsible adult,” Murphy said in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
The suspect was booked into the Whatcom County Juvenile Detention facility Thursday night.
Murphy said no weapon has been located, and the investigation in ongoing.
“School and student safety is very important to all of us, and we are grateful to the students and parents who came forward to report this threat as they found out about it,” Murphy said. “Our officers and members of the Bellingham School District worked together to quickly resolve this investigation last night and restore a sense of safety for the school staff, students, and parents for Friday’s school day.”
Bellingham School District staff revealed the incident was related to Shuksan Middle School at 2717 Alderwood Ave. Principal Allison Chryst sent the following safety alert to parents of Shuksan students at 7:48 p.m. Thursday:
“Dear Shuksan Families, We received a report this evening about a threat to students’ safety. We take all reports seriously and the student in question will be staying home until we are certain all students will be safe. Bellingham Police Department has been notified and we are consulting with them on next steps. Thank you to students, staff, and families for bringing this to our attention and we look forward to having a great day at school tomorrow. “
Chryst followed up with a morning update Friday that included word that Bellingham Police were “not recommending any additional precautions or steps at Shuksan today regarding this student.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 1:51 PM.