Teen arrested in threat case with gang overtones

Published 9:34 pm Friday, June 15, 2007

MUKILTEO – Two Olympic View Middle School students say a classmate carrying a steak knife told them they would die if they didn’t join his gang.

Mukilteo police on Thursday arrested the boy, 14, at school. He could face felony harassment charges, Mukilteo Cmdr. Chuck Macklin said.

Police believe the boy used MySpace messages to begin harassing two classmates, a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl.

He reportedly posted threatening messages to the victims’ MySpace pages and sent notes during the school day that implied threats, Macklin said.

On Thursday, the boy approached the pair at school and attempted to intimidate them, Macklin said.

The victims told police the boy said he wanted them to join his gang and if they didn’t, they would die.

The teen allegedly flashed a steak knife but didn’t threaten the victims with the blade, Macklin said.

No one was injured in the incident.

School officials called police.

During the investigation, the boy said he has been member of a well-known Central American gang since he was six, according to police.

“It’s highly unlikely,” Macklin said. “It doesn’t fit, given his race or some of the things he was saying.”

The boy may be posing as a gang member to instill fear in other students or to feel part of a group, Macklin said.

School officials took “severe” disciplinary action against the boy, said Andy Muntz, Mukilteo School District spokesman.

Muntz said he couldn’t say if the boy was expelled.

The teen was booked into the Denney Juvenile Justice Center.