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Deputies arrest juvenile suspect in connection with Mead High School shooting threat; identify suspects in East, West Valley threats

Mead High School is seen as school ends on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, in Spokane, Wash. A threat was posted on social media against the school Tuesday, and the Spokane Sheriff’s Office has arrested a juvenile suspect. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Will Campbell willc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5513

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a juvenile suspect who is believed to have issued a shooting threat Tuesday against Mead High School, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said.

Because the suspect is a juvenile, no name has been released.

Other suspects have been identified in connection with threats at East Valley and West Valley high schools, but no arrests have been made yet.

Knezovich could not say if any of the suspects are students at the high schools or if they attended class Wednesday.

At East Valley High School, where about 10 percent of students were in attendance Tuesday, students returned to class Wednesday with a 75 percent attendance rate, said Superintendent Kelly Shea.

Shea said he guessed the lower rate on Wednesday was due to ongoing concerns over the threat.

A news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said the threat aimed at Mead High School was not connected to the East Valley or West Valley threats.

The news release stated that felony charges are expected.

Timeline of threats

About 7:30 p.m. Monday Students from East Valley High School are sent on their Snapchat accounts a friend request from an anonymous account. The account had a message that read, “Watch out if go to EV. Some of you are going to die tomorrow,” and it included a gun emoji.

10:30 p.m. Monday Shea sends a statement to parents and the public, alerting them of the threat and that school would not be canceled, but any absences would be dismissed.

6:20 a.m. Tuesday Shea alerts parents that additional law enforcement would be patrolling the school. The school was kept in a “lockout.”

7:50 a.m. Tuesday About 10 percent of students showed up to class at East Valley High School, but classes and after-school activities continued as normal.

2:41 p.m. Tuesday Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reports West Valley High School and East Valley High School students received similar threats. The schools did not report any changes to security or class schedule.

7:50 a.m. Wednesday About 75 percent of East Valley High School students returned to classes.

About 4 p.m. Wednesday Knezovich tells The Spokesman-Review that the Mead High School threat suspect has been arrested and is a juvenile. The suspects from the other two schools have not.