On the evening of March 1, 2018, officers of the Nampa Police Department received information of a threat to Ridgevue High School. The threat was made through social media referencing a possible shooting. Members of the Nampa Police Department and the Canyon County Sheriff’s office worked together to quickly identify the alleged suspect and located him at his residence. It was determined that there was no actual intent of a shooting. The student will not be attending the school in the near future and there is an extra police presence on campus today. No charges have been filed at this point but the investigation will be reviewed by the Canyon County Prosecutor’s office.
This morning, March 2, 2018, officers of the Nampa Police Department were notified of a possible intoxicated student with a firearm at Columbia High School. The school resource officer along with patrol officers and the school administration located and detained the student. The student was not in possession of a weapon and was not intoxicated. It was determined that the nature of the information was untimely and not accurate. Several students had been told of the possible threat and they relayed that information to appropriate authorities. We believe there is no threat to the school from this incident.
While both situations were not actual, legitimate threats to either school, it is an opportunity to remind the community of the magnitude of this problem. There are no, “innocent pranks,” when it comes to school threats. There is no reason to think it is okay to make these types of statements on social media. Law enforcement takes these situations extremely serious. The protection of our children is one of our highest priorities. We will aggressively pursue any information of threats and will prosecute any violations we find.
We applaud those students and parents who heard something and told the authorities. This enabled us to respond quickly to the information to reduce the likelihood of an actual event. It is only through the partnership between the schools, parents, students, and police that we can attempt to address the difficult issue. The Nampa Police Department reminds everyone to stay vigilant and if you see something, say something.