Kansas boys left threatening notes at school to be funny, police say

Two Garden City students are in trouble for allegedly dropping handwritten notes threatening violence against the school in the building’s hallways.

The boys, who are 13 and 14, apparently left the notes because they were trying to be funny, the Garden City Police Department said in a news release. Both were arrested on suspicion of criminal threat.

“It was done more in humor – a prank and playing around – more than a serious threat,” Capt. Randy Ralston said by phone.

Police started investigating the threats after a faculty member at Horace Good Middle School found the first note, which said there might be a shooting at school, in one of the school’s hallways on March 10, according to the release.

The investigation continued while students were on spring break last week, and school officials and the police department decided to put additional law enforcement officers on campus “for the safety and security of the students and faculty upon their return” to classes, the release said.

On Tuesday, when students came back to school, “several more notes threatening violence began to appear in the hallways again,” the release said.

But this time, people and surveillance cameras were watching for the perpetrators.

Police took the boys into custody at school during the school day, Ralston said. They have since been released to their parents, he said.

Police determined there was no immediate threat against the building, students or staff, the release said.

The Eagle is not naming the teens because they have not been charged as adults. The case remained under investigation on Wednesday, Ralston said.

Horace Good, a seventh- and eighth-grade facility, is the larger of two middle schools in Garden City. It has nearly 700 students.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Kansas boys left threatening notes at school to be funny, police say."