Juvenile, 15, arrested for reported threat to West Iron
Iron River school goes into ‘soft lockdown’ for initial investigation
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IRON RIVER -- A juvenile was taken into custody Wednesday after reportedly making a threat against the West Iron County School District, Iron County Sheriff Ryan Boehmke said.
The district went into a soft lockdown at about 8:36 a.m. Wednesday due to a potential threat made by a former student, the sheriff said in a news release.
The lockdown came after School Superintendent Kevin Schmutzler received notification from the OK2SAY tip line of threatening comments. The information was given to the school resource officer, who immediately activated the mobile alert of a lockdown.
After securing the scene and conducting an initial investigation, a 15-year-old was apprehended and transported to the Iron County holdover without incident, Boehmke said.
"We are very appreciative of our Iron County Sheriff's Department for their quick response, investigation, taking the suspect into custody, and ensuring it was safe to return to our normal school operations," Schmutzler said in a statement posted Wednesday on the district's website.
"The person accused of making these comments was not in our school, and has been taken into police custody. This case is an open investigation, so no further information will be provided at this time," the superintendent said.
This was the second incident regarding threats against the school in less than a month. On Oct. 10, West Iron classes were canceled due to "threatening comments regarding school safety" that were reported to the school resource officer, Schmutzler said at the time. Classes resumed the next day after an investigation determined there were no immediate threats.
The district has requested continued additional police presence around campus as a precautionary measure, Schmutzler said.
The sheriff's department was assisted Wednesday by Caspian Police Department and Iron County Central Dispatch.
"The sheriff's office would like to thank the staff at the West Iron County School and OK2SAY tip line for their joint cooperation," Boehmke said.