Two weeks after a threat to shoot up the school closed Skyline High School in Sammamish for a day, the suspect is in custody. Detectives with the Sammamish Police Department arrested the 16-year-old former Skyline student early Tuesday morning at his home in Edmonds.
After serving a search warrant at the home last Tuesday, detectives seized three computers and two cell phones. A forensic search of one of the computers found digital evidence, or footprints, linking the suspect to the threat. They found no evidence that anyone else was involved the threat against Skyline.
Detectives also found evidence suggesting that the same suspect was involved with a similar threat against Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood last spring. The suspect was booked at the King County Youth Services Center. Detectives expect to forward the case to the King County Prosecutor’s Office tomorrow.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On Wednesday, September 19, at about 8:45 pm, an anonymous posting appeared on 4chan.org, a bulletin board website. The threat stated that the poster was tired of life in general and the people he had to deal with at school. The poster went on to say that he intended to bring his father’s Erma submachine gun to Skyline and open fire on student in the commons area. The post included a photo of an automatic weapon.
After the post appeared, the King County Sheriff’s Office 911 center received calls from all over the nation alerting law enforcement to the threat. Over 270 calls came in to 911 the evening of the 19th.
Officers immediately notified school district staff and began investigating the origin of the threat. Around 11 pm, Skyline High School and Issaquah School District administrators exercised an abundance of caution and closed the school for Thursday, September 21.
The King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit detectives, in cooperation with the FBI Cyber Crimes Unit, began tracking the IP address from which the threat originated. The track led to a proxy server in Sweden where they reached a dead end.
Dozens of students and community members came forward to provide information and tips in the case. Detectives follow up on every tip and eventually developed a suspect. The KCSO case number is 12-221124.
Contact: Sergeant Jessica Sullivan
jessica.sullivan@kingcounty.gov
425-295-0776 – desk
425-531-0116 – cell