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Teen Put Classmates on Hit List, Police Say: Princeton: Student Charged With Making Terroristic Threats

Posted on: Friday, 28 April 2006, 00:00 CDT

By Tiara M. Ellis, The Dallas Morning News

Apr. 28--PRINCETON -- A Princeton teenager was charged Thursday with making terroristic threats based on a hit list he had and e-mails and cellphone text messages he sent to other students, Princeton police and school officials said.

The 16-year-old sophomore, not identified because of his age, remained in the Collin County Juvenile Detention Center on Thursday.

He was arrested Wednesday at an alternative education center in McKinney, where he'd been attending classes after expulsion from Princeton High School, Princeton Police Chief Jeff Barnett said.

Police and Princeton High School officials met Thursday afternoon with the 20 students and two staff members on the hit list, as well as with the students' parents.

Letters about the case were sent home with other students, Princeton schools Superintendent Philip Anthony said.

"The threat was not specific. But prior incidents [with this student] led us to think this might be a more credible threat," Mr. Anthony said. "As always, parents need to be on the lookout during and after school hours."

The same student was arrested on April 12 after a fight at Princeton High.

He wasn't supposed to be on campus because he'd been expelled and was taking classes at the alternative school, Mr. Anthony said. Because of the student's age, school and police officials would not discuss the reasons for that expulsion or whether there were any previous arrests.

Princeton High, which has one resource officer, was on "heightened security," with regular police patrols, while the student was being investigated. After his arrest Wednesday, security returned to normal, officials said.

Police were first notified of the case by students who received threats through text messages and e-mails, Chief Barnett said.

"We believe he was physically capable of carrying out the threats he made, so we wanted to make sure parents and the school district were notified," Chief Barnett said.

There was mention of a firearm in one of the threats, but no guns were found in the teen's home, which was searched Wednesday with a parent's permission, Chief Barnett said.

Police investigators plan to continue talking to students and parents at the school to try to determine a motive. Chief Barnett said the fight may have been one motive but that he believes there is more than one.

"It only takes one student. And we want to take any indication [of danger] seriously," Mr. Anthony said.

At Princeton High on Thursday, sophomore Zane Barns said rumors about the case were spreading fast, even after the letters were sent home to parents. .

"I heard the list had 100 people on it. Supposedly he had a gun and police had not caught him yet," Zane, 16, said after meeting his mother at the car.

His mother, Renee Raia, said her son wouldn't be returning until the school has addressed the situation in a meeting with all students' parents, not just those of students named on the list.

The Princeton school district has five schools and a special-programs center that serve 2,500 students in Princeton, which is east of McKinney. Princeton High has 750 students.

E-mail tellis@dallasnews.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News

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Source: The Dallas Morning News

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