Suspect taken into custody in Perryville school threats case

Perryville, Missouri, police said Sunday, Jan. 15, a juvenile has been taken into custody in connection with threats made against Perryville public schools.

At a Sunday afternoon news conference, Police Chief Direk Hunt said breaks in the case came Saturday morning, Jan. 14.

A Perry County Sheriff’s Office officer, who serves as a school resource officer, received information from a police officer in Herculaneum, Missouri, about a juvenile student who recently transferred to the Perryville district.

Separately, a police detective received information from a school resource officer in Fredericktown, Missouri, with information about a suspect.

Perryville police contacted the juvenile’s guardians and asked them to bring the juvenile to the police station for questioning.

According to Hunt, during questioning, the suspect allegedly admitted to making the telephone threats. At which point, the juvenile was taken into custody and turned over to juvenile authorities.

A caller, using phone number-shielding software, on Wednesday, Jan. 11, said he had information regarding a possible bomb in the high school, a news release said. Schools officials were immediately notified and protocols were put in place while officers searched the exterior of the campus. According to the release, the caller contacted law enforcement multiple times and information from those calls prompted an eventual partial evacuation of the campus. Friday morning, Jan. 13, the same caller, who identified himself as a high school student, said he was planning to commit a mass school shooting.

Fara Jones, deputy superintendent of the school district, thanked the various law enforcement personnel for their work and said the district will remain on “heightened alert” for the coming week. She noted the district’s middle and high schools were “swept” by law enforcement officials Friday and a precautionary search will be conducted before students return Tuesday, Jan. 17.