Two weeks after a threat to shoot up the school closed Skyline High School for a day, a suspect is in custody. Sammamish Police Detectives arrested a 16-year-old former Skyline student early this morning, October 2nd, at his Edmonds home.
Last Tuesday after serving a search warrant at the home, detectives seized three computers and two cell phones. A forensic search of one computer found digital evidence (or footprints) linking the suspect to the threat. They found no evidence that anyone else was involved the gun violence threat against Skyline.
Detectives also found evidence suggesting the same suspect was involved with a similar threat against Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood last spring.
The suspect was booked at the King County Youth Services Center. Detectives expect to forward the case to the King County Prosecutor’s Office tomorrow.
Skyline Threat History
On Wednesday, September 19th around 8:45PM, an anonymous posting appeared on a bulletin board website. The threat stated that the poster was tired of life in general and the people he had to deal with at school. The poster went on to say that he intended to bring his father’s Erma submachine gun to Skyline and open fire on student in the commons area. The post included a photo of an automatic weapon.
The threat was then widely circulated on other social media outlets leading to the King County Sheriff’s Office 911 center receiving calls from all over the nation alerting police to the threat. Over 270 calls came in to 911 the evening of the 19th.
Officers immediately notified Issaquah School district staff and began investigating the origin of the threat. Around 11PM, Skyline High School and Issaquah School District administrators exercised caution and closed Skyline on Thursday, September 21. School resumed the following day with a late start time.
The King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit detectives, in cooperation with the FBI Cyber Crimes Unit, began tracking the IP address from which the threat originated. The track led to a proxy server in Sweden where they reached a dead-end.
Dozens of students and community members came forward to provide information and tips in the case. Detectives followed up on every tip and eventually developed a suspect.
