EVERETT — A Cascade High School senior has been arrested for investigation of making online death threats against a classmate.
The victim told deputies with the Snohomish County sheriff’s south precinct that he was receiving Snapchat videos stating that he would be killed on Wednesday.
One included a photo of an assault rifle and a pistol with the caption “See you in school…”
Another included reference to the 1999 mass killings at Columbine High School, officials said. In that case, two teens went on a shooting spree on the Colorado campus, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before committing suicide.
A third Snapchat message showed two people in masks holding what appeared to be an assault rifle and a pistol.
Snapchat is a popular way to communicate online. It automatically deletes content — photos, video and text messages — from servers after the “Snap” is opened or expires.
The victim told deputies he felt the suspect was capable of following up on the threats.
While the deputy was interviewing him, a fourth Snapchat message arrived.
The deputy recorded it. The video showed someone in a wooded area, possibly a backyard, and what appeared to be an assault rifle in the grass, according to court records.
The victim told deputies that the suspect had been stalking him and had printed out his personal information and class schedule and had handed it to him.
Other suspects have been interviewed but no other arrests have been made. Sheriff’s deputies as well as Everett police were investigating the allegations.
The suspects were identified as the Cascade senior and two of his friends, all 18, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
Patrol officers located the primary suspect’s home in Everett early Wednesday morning. He was there with his friends.
The trio reportedly were cooperative with deputies.
Cascade Principal Cathy Woods sent a message Wednesday to families of students attending the school.
She said one student had been arrested and a second student had been removed from the school while police investigate that student’s potential involvement in the threat.
“Some (students) may be aware of the Snapchat threat and may want to visit with you about it or with one of our staff who are also aware of the situation,” she wrote.
She credited “fast thinking on the part of one person who saw the middle-of-the-night threat” that allowed deputies to act quickly.
When they went to his home, deputies asked the suspect if he sent his classmate a Snapchat message that day. He initially denied doing so, but then “changed his story and said he was playing around with the victim,” court papers said.
The suspect said the firearms found in the home were not real, but were Airsoft guns. He was arrested for investigation of felony harassment and stalking.
Everett School District officials recommend parents with social media questions go to the websites commonsensemedia.org and iroc2.org.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com
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