NEWTON – A juvenile was arrested in Newton yesterday after a reported online threat of violence at Newton High School.
The Newton Police Department says that yesterday morning, at around 9:40am, a Newton Police Department School Resource Officer and staff at Newton High School were notified by a student of an online threat to commit violence against the school. The online message included a specific threat against two individuals at the school and was made in an online group chat witnessed by several students.
As a result of the threat, the school was placed on a soft lockdown while school officials and the Newton Police Department investigated. The lockdown was lifted at 1:40pm once the suspect was identified and located.
Police say that while the juvenile was being taken into custody, he became combative and directed additional threats of violence toward officers. The juvenile was eventually transported to the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Eldora.
The suspect is a 17-year-old male who is a former student of the Newton Community School District. He now faces the following charges:
- Making Terroristic Threats, a class D felony
- Interference with Official Acts, a simple misdemeanor
- 5 counts of 1st Degree Harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor
