CHESTERFIELD, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
A 15-year-old Parkway Central student is in custody and accused of making threats against his school and classmates. Another student saw his Facebook page that contained what she thought were some disturbing messages, so she contacted the school. Officials then contacted Chesterfield police. The 15 year old was taken into custody Friday after police investigated his Facebook page and questioned the teen.An official with the school district said the page contained photos of weapons. One student says the page included a photo of one of the Columbine shooters.
Police are not saying what exactly the threat was. What they are saying, though, is that the student was planning an attack on the school and students.
"In this particular case our investigation revealed that there was enough information available to us that we felt that we needed to take some sort of enforcement action," said Lieutenant Steven Lewis with the Chesterfield Police.
Some parents seemed to be concerned about the threats. "They obviously have substantial evidence at least to do that, and that really concerns me," said Patti Kirschbaum, a parent.
A Parkway official says he was also concerned after reading the student's Facebook page. "It just seemed out of the ordinary. There were just strange phrases and words that were out of the ordinary, that caused us to say you know what this needs to be looked into a little further," said Paul Tandy, a Parkway official.
"What I can do is assure the parents and the teachers and the schools that we believe there is no cause for concern at this time. We don't believe that there is as active threat," added Tandy.
Police believe the student was acting alone.
Classes at Parkway Central start next Wednesday and the district has a number of security measures in place.
The school details those measures in a letter heading home to parents and staff.
