Updated 3:44 2/23/18
A student from the Ninilchik School was taken into custody after making threats about bringing a gun to school.
Alaska State Troopers Spokesperson Tim DeSpain said Troopers received a call from a concerned parent Tuesday about the student.
“Troopers from the Anchor Point and Soldotna posts responded and conducted an investigation,” DeSpain explained. “It showed that a 12-year-old male student had repeatedly made threatening statements about the school and mentioning that he was going to bring a gun to school. He did make these statements to some other student.”
After consulting with the state Division of Juvenile Justice, Troopers took the student into custody off school grounds and transported him to the Kenai Youth Facility.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District spokesperson Peggy Erkeneff said the school’s principal, Jeff Ambrosier, was notified about the threat after school hours.
“He sent home a message to all parents and staff was fully briefed as well,” she said. “Then a school counselor was available the next day at school for any of the students who just wanted to talk about school safety or their school culture and what was happening in their own school that day.”
Troopers are still investigating the incident, and Erkeneff adds that the district will determine next steps after the investigation is complete.
“Depending on the outcome of that is, the school will definitely be doing its own investigation, and then determining any disciplinary actions based on what comes out and we discover in the investigation,” she added.
The Division of Juvenile Justice is unable to say whether the student is still in custody or release any other information on the case.
Original posted 8:33 p.m. 2/22/18
A 12-year-old male student from the Ninilchik School is in custody after making threats about bringing a gun to school. According to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch posted Thursday, Troopers received a call from a concerned parent Tuesday about the student.
Troopers determined the student had made repeated threats and planned to bring a gun to school. Troopers took the student into custody and transported him to the Kenai Youth Facility.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District spokesperson Peggy Erkeneff said the school’s principal, Jeff Ambrosier, was notified about the threat after school hours.
“So he sent home a message to all parents and staff was fully briefed as well,” Erkeneff said. “Then a school counselor was available the next day at school for any of the students who just wanted to talk about school safety or their school culture and what was happening in their own school that day.”
Troopers are still investigating the incident, and Erkeneff said the district will determine what actions need to be taken after the investigation is complete.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect additional information and quotes.