Student threatens to aim machine gun at LGBTQ+ demonstrators at WA school, cops say
A middle school and high school were placed on lockdown after a student told a classmate he wanted to aim a machine gun at students rallying in support of the LGBTQ+ community in front of the schools, police said.
The boy was taken into custody Monday, June 13, the Kalama Police Department said in a release.
Dozens of students were participating in a walkout at Kalama High School in support of the LGBTQ+ community, according to KOIN 6. The walkout came after a transgender student was reportedly assaulted in the hallways after school on Monday, June 6. The student was treated in a hospital.
On June 13, a male student spoke with another about the demonstration, “expressing a desire to aim an automatic machine gun in the direction of the demonstrators,” police said.
Though they did not see a gun, the student was concerned by their classmate’s remarks and reported them to school administrators, police said.
Police responded to the two schools, which share a campus, at around 12:30 p.m., the release said. The two schools were immediately put on lockdown.
Law enforcement said they located the male student off campus, and he was taken in for questioning.
“[C]riminal charges will be forwarded to the county prosecutor’s office,” the release said. McClatchy News has reached out to the Kalama Police Department for further information.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Student threatens to aim machine gun at LGBTQ+ demonstrators at WA school, cops say."
