A forensic document examiner has helped detectives at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office make an arrest of a Coyle juvenile. The 15-year-old suspect will be arrested and processed into the Office of Juvenile Affairs system to stand for the charge of Terrorism Hoax.
On Feb. 11, the Sheriff’s Office received a call for service from the Coyle School District indicating that there had been a threat against several students and one administrator. Coyle School officials stated that they had discovered a hand written message on the men’s bathroom wall. The threat was specific, citing the date of a planned attack, indicating that the suspect would bring a gun to school and kill six specifically named students and the principal.
The small town’s school system was cleared by deputies, and a plan was put into action to provide comprehensive security for the students and employees of the school for the remainder of the week. School administration notified parents of the threat, and allowed the parents to decide if their children would attend school for the remainder of the week.
The following day, numerous deputies and Investigators reported to the school at 07:00 a.m. All students were searched with a handheld metal detector. All bags were searched by deputies. The attendance at the school was diminished, but many students still attended classes.
“The investigation for this type of incident can be complicated. The Logan County Sheriff’s Office is fortunate to employ a Forensic Document Examiner with 14 years’ experience in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area,” Chief Deputy Richard Stephens said.
“This Investigator was able to compare the handwriting at the scene, with handwriting examples collected from the student body. The Investigator was able to find one student whose handwriting was consistent with the handwriting in the threat.”
On Feb. 20, investigators were able to interview the student with their parent at the Sheriff’s Office. Through the course of the interview, detectives were able to obtain a full confession.
“The suspect confessed to writing the threat as a way of getting back at the school for a recent disciplinary action,” Stephens said.
“This incident resulted in approximately one-third of the students missing class; extraordinary alteration of the normal school operations; additional staff expenditures for the school district; and significant staffing expense for the Sheriff’s Office. The incident added an untold amount of stress and emotional distress to the students, parents, and staff of the Coyle School District,” Stephens added.
The suspect’s name and further description are not being released.
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