More than a dozen individuals – a mix of juveniles and adults – have been arrested for making threats against schools across West Virginia.
As of Monday evening, the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security reported more than 60 schools in 34 counties were affected by more than 140 threats made in the past week.
Counties from Preston to Kanawha are beginning to arrest and charge suspects, some of them students, in relation to the threats.
Debra Rusnak, prosecuting attorney for Kanawha County, said threats against schools are taken very seriously, and four juveniles have been charged with making terroristic threats.
“Anytime we receive a threat against our schools, or any school or children, we take that very seriously,” she said. “We are very concerned. What we don’t want is to be lax or not take these seriously and then something bad happened. I would rather us react on a precautionary measure to ensure that we are taking steps to make our kids safe.”
The terroristic threat charge is a felony offense that carries no less than one to three years in prison or a fine of $5,000 to $25,000 or both fine and confinement.
Rusnak said she has been in contact with officials across the region to support efforts to apprehend suspects.
“It is somewhat different in investigating a juvenile case and handling a juvenile matter,” she said. “So I have been able to offer advice to individuals who are in our county and as well as individuals who work in other agencies outside of the county. This is not a Kanawha County issue. This is a nationwide issue.”
Steven Dragisich, prosecuting attorney for Hancock County, said three individuals in his jurisdiction have also been charged with making terroristic threats. He emphasized that the law does not distinguish an individual’s intent when making a threat.
“Whether or not they intend to carry out, if they make a threat, and they make a threat like this, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of whether they’re a juvenile or an adult,” he said.
Dragisich said it may be several months before any hearings will be scheduled in these cases.
Officials are asking the public to not share threatening posts online and instead to contact law enforcement directly, or through the SeeSend app, which allows users to submit anonymous information about potentially threatening behaviors or activities.