The recent arrests came in the midst of a flurry of bomb threats phoned into multiple school buildings across the region, including Edgewood City Schools, by callers using computer-enhanced voices. While no actual bombs were found, school district and law enforcement officials are taking steps to punish the offenders and reinforce zero tolerance policies when it comes to threats of violence against educational institutions.
Law enforcement officials said there is some element of “copy catting” that comes into play as well as a heightened alertness following high-profile incidents. During the three months following the Columbine High School mass shooting in 1999, 38 juveniles were charged in Butler County with making threats at school, Clevenger said.
Hamilton City Schools Superintendent Tony Orr said this week that he was “tired of seeing these kids disrupt our mission, which is to provide an education to students in our school district” and that he “absolutely takes these threats seriously.” Orr’s comments came in the aftermath of a spate of school disruptions that one day resulted in roughly 900 absences district-wide in one day.
Among the Hamilton incidents were: a 16-year-old Hamilton High School student getting arrested Oct. 2 for making “threats of violence” against the school and students; a 17-year-old high school boy getting arrested after allegedly posting on his Facebook page that he was at school and had a gun; and a 13-year-old Garfield Middle School student getting arrested Oct. 9 for bringing a pellet gun to school and “shooting plastic pellets at several students.”
If found guilty of the felony inducing panic, the charged teens can be sentenced to the Ohio Department of Youth Services for one year or up to their 21st birthday. They can also be placed in the county’s juvenile rehabilitation center, which is a lock-down facility, or be placed on intensive probation or be sent to a treatment center, Clevenger said.
All five teens involved in the recent incidents are awaiting pre-trial hearings before juvenile judges in the next couple weeks.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said his office is reviewing the cases to see if any warrant a move to adult court, which is possible due to the degree of charge and the age. But that is also a discretionary decision that would require a judges’ ruling.
“We are looking into it,” Gmoser said. “These are juveniles who made some stupid decisions. They were not out robbing banks with a gun. No bombs were found and nobody died, (but) we do want them to get the message. Punishment does have an element of a deterrent.”
Maj. Mark Hoffman, of the Middletown Division of Police, described the juveniles involved in a recent incident at Middletown High School as “knuckle heads” who had no real intent to harm anyone. Middletown police arrested two male high school students on Oct. 7 for allegedly talking about a bomb in school and charged them with inducing panic.
One of the boys had what police described as a “doodle” or drawing in his pocket that looked like an explosive device, Hoffman said.
“It’s not something that would ever have worked,” he said, adding one of the boys borrowed another student’s cell phone to go online and research bombs.
The mother of one of the boys told the Journal-News she was shocked when police called about her son’s involvement.
“He should have known better,” she said. “He was trying to be cute with his friend, and he didn’t realize it was totally inappropriate.”
The mother said her son never would have harmed anyone, but she can understand the reaction of the school and police given “the world we live in today.”
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