A 15-year-old boy who said he had been bullied at school was charged Monday with making comments that other students took as a threat to “shoot the school up” about two weeks ago in northwest Indiana.
The boy was arrested without incident Monday evening and charged with a felony count of intimidation, according to the Porter County sheriff’s office. He was taken to Porter County sheriff’s office.
Officers responded to Washington Township Middle/High School Sept. 22 after a call of threats made by the teen, the sheriff’s office said.
Earlier that week, the boy had said, “If I had a gun I would shoot you,” according to the sheriff’s office. On Sept. 22, he made an “open-ended” comment at lunch that he would be at school Oct. 3, but not Oct. 4.
The comments led several students to believe he was threatening suicide or was “going to shoot the school up,” the sheriff’s office said.
After speaking with school administrators and staff, officers went to the student’s home, where they spoke with him and his father, the sheriff’s office said.
The boy told officers he has been bullied by kids at school and was depressed, and he didn’t mean any harm, according to the sheriff’s office. He admitted making the comment earlier in the week, but said he did it in the heat of the moment and would not act on it.
Officers also learned that a planned family vacation was the reason he would be at school Oct. 3, but not Oct. 4, the sheriff’s office said.
The teen, whose parents agreed to let officers take him to a hospital for evaluation, had made a list of students who had “hurt” him and others that had “helped” him, according to the sheriff’s office. He explained it was his way of coping with the bullying.
The boy was taken to the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center, and the East Porter Township School Corporation was notified about the arrest and charges, according to the sheriff’s office.
