2 Henderson students arrested for allegedly threatening behavior
Two Henderson students were arrested by school police in separate incidents involving allegations of threatening behavior as the 2018-19 year kicked off.
Staff at Green Valley High School noticed a 16-year-old male student was acting strangely on Monday and the student was arrested after he was found to be carrying a loaded gun, Clark County School District Police Capt. Ken Young said.
The student, whose name is also not being released by police because he is a juvenile, will face charges of possession of a dangerous weapon on school property.
The investigation is ongoing and Young said it wasn’t clear whether the student planned to use the gun.
“We give kudos to the staff for knowing their students and recognizing something wasn’t right with this student,” Young said.
The other arrest came on Sunday, after school officials were tipped to two rumors regarding potential plans for school violence. One was deemed unfounded, but the other resulted in an arrest of a male Foothill High School student, Young said on Monday. The tips were reported through SafeVoice, a statewide system where students can report bullying or other threats anonymously.
The student from Foothill High School will face charges of making a terroristic threat, Young said.
“The threat was basically to do a school shooting,” he said of the student. Young was unsure of the student’s age but confirmed he was a juvenile, meaning he will not be identified by police.
Young was unsure if weapons or any evidence the student intended to carry out the threat were found in the residence, but said officers found enough to make an arrest.
The arrests were the first of the school year.
During a press conference Monday morning, Superintendent Jesus Jara mentioned the arrests and encouraged students to “see something, say something.”
Two tips came in to district over weekend, superintendent says. One was unfounded, other resulted in student apprehended and gun confiscated at Green Valley @MeghinDelaney pic.twitter.com/dmOfcdWx1v
— Amelia Pak-Harvey (@AmeliaPakHarvey) August 13, 2018
“It’s critical that our children are involved with our schools,” he said.
In addition to the arrests day, students at Mack Middle School, on East Karen Avenue near Boulder Highway, spent part of the morning on “soft lockdown” until about 10:30 a.m., as police officers searched the area nearby for robbery suspects.
Students and staff were able to move through the school buildings, but were not able to leave or use outdoor areas.
“We still have smiling faces around here,” Principal Roxanne James said after the lockdown was lifted.
Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.
SafeVoice
The 2018-19 school year marked the statewide launch of SafeVoice, an online system that parents and students can use to report bullying or other threats.
SafeVoice stems from a bill bassed by the state Legislature in 2017.
SafeVoice is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year by trained professionals at the Nevada Department of Public Safety, and all reports are confidential under the law.
SafeVoice is available in multiple platforms: by telephone at 833-216-SAFE (7233); online at safevoicenv.org; or through the downloadable app for Apple or Android phones (free in the app store).
