Threat at Osage Community School District leads to ‘shelter in place’ protocol; Wayne County 14-year-old arrested

Osage schools shelter in place

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(ABC 6 News) — Wayne County deputies took a 14-year-old boy into custody Tuesday, Jan. 30, after the juvenile allegedly threatened Wayne County and Osage Community Schools.

Osage students and staff were told to shelter in place after a threat came in around 8:00 a.m.

According to Wayne County Sheriff Keith Davis, the teenager was not a student in Osage or Wayne County–but had been attempting to enroll in the Wayne Community School District.

According to Davis, the 14-year-old had posted messages about shooting people at both schools on SnapChat.

Osage students allegedly saw the messages and reported them to school staff, leading to the 75-to-90-minute lockdowns in both locations.

According to a letter sent to parents from Superintendent Barb Schwamman, law enforcement notified the school district that the shelter-in-place could be lifted around 9:15 a.m. The school district did not detail the legal investigation.

In the letter, Schwamman called the threat ‘credible’ and that the shelter-in-place protocol was put into effect to ensure student and staff safety while police investigated.

Davis said the Wayne County 14-year-old did not have any weapons when he was taken into custody.

He commended the Osage students for reporting the threats quickly.

Davis added that Wayne County’s attorney’s office was likely considering terrorism and harassment charges against the teenager.

Osage Police confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the Mitchell County Attorney’s Office was considering further charges for the 14-year-old.