TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO) — UPDATE: The Vigo County School Corporation has confirmed the arrest of a seventh juvenile Thursday evening.
UPDATE: Terre Haute Police announce more arrests were made Thursday in relation to school threats.
The Terre Haute Police Department says two juveniles were arrested Thursday for making threats directed at Sarah Scott Middle School. THPD says the juveniles face charges of intimidation and harassment, with one of the juveniles facing an additional charge of false informing.
The THPD would like to applaud the students at Sarah Scott Middle School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School for quickly reporting the threats.
UPDATE: The arrest of a fourth juvenile was announced Thursday morning during a news conference regarding threats made against several Terre Haute Schools.
Terre Haute Police Department (THPD) was joined by the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office, Vigo County School Corporation, Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun, and Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt to address the threats and concerns regarding the safety of the schools.
Sgt. Justin Sears with THPD confirmed the arrest came after a separate threat was made against Woodrow Wilson Middle School Wednesday evening.
As we previously reported, three juveniles were arrested earlier in the day after investigations into threats made against Otter Creek Middle School, Terre Haute South High School, and Terre Haute North High School.
“Preliminary investigations indicated that none of the juveniles involved in these threats had the means or the ability to carry them (the threats) out,” Sears said.
Vigo County Prosecutor Terre Modesitt addressed the crowd, stating, “Based upon the actions of four different juveniles, they all have a felony charge presently pending against them. That felony charge is intimidation. It carries a maximum sentence of up to two-and-a-half years of imprisonment. So, we’re talking about serious charges here.”
“The Vigo County Sheriff’s Department and the Terre Haute Police Department coordinated with the school corporation and have had extra and additional police officers in every school in Vigo County,” Sears said. “We plan to continue an increased presence for the near future,” he added.
“These are our kids,” Vigo County School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Chris Himsel said. “When you’re an educator, every child that walks through our school is one of our kids. We take ownership during the school day; we care for them in the same way that they are our own kids, and so when you threaten our schools, you have threatened our kids!”
You can watch the entire press conference in the video above.
This is a developing story; we’ll have the latest information in our evening broadcasts and on our website.
ORIGINAL: Local authorities held a news conference Thursday morning after three students were arrested in separate incidents after they allegedly made threats.
School officials and law enforcement increased the security at local schools after the incidents. Many parents checked their children out of school on Wednesday and kept them home on Thursday.
WTWO is covering the news conference and will have much more on the situation as it develops. Please check back here for continuing updates.
WTWO’s previous coverage concerning the incidents:
The full Facebook livestream can be viewed below.
