Bend Senior HS shooting threat leads to arrest
(Update: Correcting shotgun, not rifle; adding email principal sent to parents)
An online threat to shoot students and staff at Bend Senior High School on Thursday morning led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Bend man at his home and the seizure of a shotgun, police said.
Police were notified about 8:15 a.m. that a threat was made against the school, Lt. Juli McConkey said.
A caller reported that a man had threatened to harm students and staff at the school on the social media website MeetMe, she said.
” The threat was a shooting at the school, not anyone specifically, ” McConkey told NewsChannel 21.
In a news release, McConkey said, ” Threats like these are taken very seriously by the Bend Police Department and the Bend-La Pine Schools. ”
” Out of an abundance of caution, several Bend police officers staged at the school this morning while Bend Police detectives located the male responsible, ” she added.
Police contacted William Wight at his home and took him into custody. A shotgun was located and seized, the lieutenant said.
” It was determined William Wight acted alone when he made the social media post, ” McConkey said. ” He is not a student at Bend-La Pine Schools, and has no affiliation with the school district, nor is he believed to have ever been present at Bend Senior High School. ”
McConkey said Wight was taken into custody and would be taken to St. Charles Bend for evaluation. He faces charges of first-degree disorderly conduct, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing.
Wight has no Oregon criminal history, according to online records.
School Principal Christopher Reese sent an email to parents, including the Bend Police news release on the arrest.
” Out of an abundance of caution, additional law enforcement were on campus this morning as an investigation into a threat to our school was investigated in Bend, ” Reese said.
” Kudos to our partners at the Bend Police Department for their phenomenal partnership and work to identify and arrest the person accused of making this threat so quickly, ” he added.
