by John Sucansky
Thisweek Newspapers

A 13-year-old boy could face charges of terroristic threats for allegedly threatening to bring a gun to McGuire Middle School in Lakeville May 1.

Lakeville Police Chief Steve Strachan said over the weekend, the suspect allegedly made threats through text messages and e-mails to other students and implied that a "Columbineî type incident would take place May 1 at the school.

"It was typical teenage melodrama over a girl,î said Strachan, "but the difference in 2006 is you don't get to talk about Columbine and bringing a gun to school. There are consequences to that.î

He likened the instance to talking about a bomb in the airport.

Students at the school were fearful and one did not attend school Monday, according to Strachan.

The entire incident was resolved over the weekend after it was reported to the police department. Detectives and the school's resource officer Beth Eilers investigated the incident and worked with parents and Lakeville Area School District officials to find the suspect.

Principal Craig Menozzi sent a letter to parents Monday stating: "Over the weekend, a parent reported that one of our eighth-grade students was talking about bringing a weapon to school.î

Strachan said the communication between the district and parents eliminated worried calls to his department and kept the school open Monday.

Menozzi said in his letter that "The Lakeville Police Department provided a precautionary police presence on site this morning and our staff was notified of the circumstances.î

Through the investigation, Strachan said detectives learned that the incident started with a specific reference to threaten a specific student, but through text messaging the threat turned into a game of "telephoneî that escalated the situation.

"We don't want to overreact, but we have to take it seriously,î said Strachan.
This particular threat, after investigation "was something stupid that got escalated,î he added.

He said in this case, the department had to balance typical middle school behavior and the way that age group tends to overexaggerate something and turn small matters into big matters, with the seriousness of a weapon in school.

Through investigation it was determined the student did not have access to a weapon.

"We're not a department or city that overreacts,î said Strachan, but there is a fine line to walk and in this instance, he said the school district and detectives did a great job of walking that line.

The Dakota County Attorney's office is expected to review the charges by the end of the week and they could be gross misdemeanor or felony level.

According to a release from the police department, "The juvenile suspect was quickly suspended from the school district and admitted to making threatening statements to other students.î

Menozzi's letter to parents Monday also cautioned, "The health, safety and welfare of the students and staff are our priority. We rely on parents to be vigilant in matters like this and report any suspicious activity to school police.î

John Sucansky is at lakeville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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