CLAREMORE, Okla. — The Rogers County Sheriff's Department arrested two junior high school students in Claremore, Okla., for creating a threatening list of names, according to Justus-Tiawah Public Schools.
Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said the people who were intended targets had just become unfavorable to the two students. He said the letter had all the components of a potential threat. Walton said investigators found the students had access to weapons and had even documented a plan via text messages.
"When we talk about you know, the school cameras being overridden, and you know, a methodical plan as this unfolds, those are concerning and when those are confirmed and backed up by the text messages, even more so," Walton said.
In a letter, Superintendent Ed Crum said the district became aware of the threat Tuesday evening, which listed several students and staff at Justus-Tiawah Junior High. Crum said the school's administration immediately contacted law enforcement, who investigated and confirmed the list's existence.
He said the two students were taken into custody and would be disciplined by the district in accordance with the Board of Education's policy.
"Nothing is more important to Justus-Tiawah Public Schools than the safety of our students and staff, and this incident was addressed with the utmost urgency and concern," Crum said.
In that same letter, he also thanked the sheriff's department and the person who reported the potential threat.
"What we find is 83 percent of the time other people knew about what was going to occur, but didn't report it," said Gary Shelton with Oklahoma Schools Security Institute.
Shelton said they have a tip-line with a person on-call 24/7 to respond to any reports made by phone, e-mail, or text. To report a threat, you can call 1-855-377-8300, text oks threat at 222-6787, or send an email to tipline@ok.gov.
Click here to read the entire letter.
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