Washington State Police Arrest Teacher For Threatening To Shoot Students
School resource deputies arrested a 58-year-old female geometry teacher on Wednesday after she allegedly made threats to shoot students, according to local authorities.
A Twitter account belonging to the sheriff of Pierce County in Washington said a teacher at Emerald Ridge High School was sent home on Tuesday after threatening to shoot students and a school case worker. When officers visited the teacher’s home on Wednesday to determine the seriousness of the threat, she repeated the threat. The teacher was then reportedly booked into the county jail on “threat to injure” charges.
School resource deputies arrest 58 yr old female teacher for making threats to shoot students at Emerald Ridge High School. Suspect made threatening statement to case worker & deputies. No weapons recovered. Suspect arrested at her home this morning, she was not at school today. pic.twitter.com/824Ly88lXh
— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) November 13, 2019
Authorities have not released the teacher’s name and said they do not believe she has access to weapons, but that her refusal to walk back her threats to students and deputies made her a risk to the public.
“If a kid makes comments [like this], the kid goes to jail,” said Detective Ed Troyer, a public information officer for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. “So obviously, adults need to be held to a higher standard.”
Emerald Ridge High School denied HuffPost’s request for comment, but the Puyallup School District, to which Emerald Ridge belongs, released the following statement:
“The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation of an Emerald Ridge High School staff member who made threats against students during a conversation off campus on Tuesday. The normal protocol for threats was followed including immediate notification of law enforcement. The staff member was not at school today and has been placed on administrative leave. Making threats against the safety of students and staff is a felony crime and taken very seriously by Puyallup School District.”
Officials for the school district say they are cooperating as local authorities continue their investigation of the matter.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
