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SAN MARCOS POLICE DEPARTMENT
On Thursday, Dec. 5, a juvenile suspect was served charges filed by the San Marcos Police Department related to the Sept. 24, report of an active shooter at San Marcos High School. The juvenile was arrested in Whitman County, Washington and faces charges of Terroristic Threat and False Alarm/ Report for the hoax call regarding San Marcos High School. The suspect faces other charges for similar calls.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, San Marcos Police received a 911 call at 3:32 p.m. A single caller reported seeing a male with a gun in the hallway. The caller told dispatchers he followed the student into a bathroom before the dispatcher heard a single gunshot over the phone call, followed by a second gunshot about a minute later. After responding to and searching the campus, San Marcos Police confirmed no shots were fired and no injuries were reported. Following investigation, San Marcos Police determined the report was a swatting call. Swatting is a type of false report intended to provoke a large law enforcement response.
“Although the call was determined to be false, the emergency response to the San Marcos High School was real with more than 150 personnel from multiple agencies arriving to the campus,” San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said. “We know that many in our community, including parents and school staff, were shaken by the threat. We took this investigation seriously to bring our community peace of mind and ensure the safety of students and families.”
Information collected using data from the original phone call suggested the call was related to a series of other swatting calls across the United States, including a false threat that targeted the Lewiston Police Department. After executing search warrants, detectives collected digital evidence from the suspect’s cell phone and computers seized at his home in Washington that linked the suspect to the calls targeting both San Marcos High School and the Lewiston Police Department. Data and information collected throughout the investigation has been shared with the FBI and other agencies and may result in additional charges.
“San Marcos CISD acknowledges and appreciates the hard work and diligence of the San Marcos Police Department in providing closure to this situation,” San Marcos CISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Cardona said. “This hoax caused significant fear and concern among our students, staff and families, but the recent arrest offers a sense of relief.”
The San Marcos Police Department will not release the juvenile suspect’s name. As of this release, the suspect remains in custody and his prosecution is being coordinated with the Hays County District Attorney’s Office.
The San Marcos Police Department would like to thank the agencies that assisted in the response and investigation related to this incident, including the San Marcos Fire Department, the San Marcos City Marshal’s Office, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, San Marcos Hays County EMS, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lewiston Police Department and the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office.
