High Desert Middle School student charged in shooting threat

(Update: Two students cited for fire alarm, shooting threat; sgt., parent comments)

A 13-year-old High Desert Middle School student who threatened a shooting at the school has been charged with first-degree disorderly conduct and harassment, while a second student who pulled a fire alarm minutes earlier also has been charged with disorderly conduct, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Sgt. William Bailey said in a news release that deputies and detectives have been working on the two incidents at the school, located on Southeast 27th Street near the Bend city limits, since Thursday afternoon.

Bailey said they interviewed numerous students about the two incidents that occurred 20 minutes apart late Thursday morning and have determined the first incident, around 11:20 a.m., involving a fire alarm being activated was a single 14-year-old student who acted alone and this was not related to the later incident. Students were evacuated after the alarm sounded.

That student has been disciplined by school administration and temporarily removed from school. He also was cited on one count of first-degree disorderly conduct and released to his parents, Bailey said.

The second incident involved “a separate middle school aged male who made some verbal threats of violence that involved a firearm to other students,” Bailey said Friday. “We interviewed many students today and spent time searching the school both yesterday, and today, and determined that there was never actually a firearm in his possession or on school grounds.”

The information was brought forward by other students to school administration officials.

“Subsequent searches of the school grounds determined that although the student implied he possessed a firearm, no firearm was in his possession or ever on the school grounds,” the sergeant said.

That 13-year-old student was disciplined by school officials, and sheriff’s investigators have cited him on charges of first-degree disorderly conduct and harassment and released to his parents, Bailey said.

“While we were investigating these incidents, we took every precaution to keep students safe,” Bailey wrote. We increased our presence at the school and assigned DCSO detectives to assist with the investigation.”

Some parents expressed concern over social media about the lack of information initially released.

“We understand the public’s need and want for information, but we also need to release accurate information to the public,” Bailey said. “In this case, there were lots of rumors, lots of speculation, and so it took some time to go back and interview the many students and backtrack where the information came from, to come to a conclusion about what was actual fact and what was rumor.”

“Based on our investigation, there was never an actual threat to the safety of students and staff at High Desert Middle School,” Bailey concluded.