Astoria Police and Schools Investigate Plot. 16 Year Old Arrested

On the afternoon of October 31, 2011 Astoria Police were contacted by Astoria High School administrators reporting that they had received information that a 16 year old male student had attempted to get another 15 year old student to join him in a school shooting at Astoria High School. The student solicited to join in the shooting brought printed Facebook messages to school administrators. School administrators immediately reported the matter to police.

Based on the initial investigation into the matter, Astoria Police determined that this was not a single conversation about a fantasy but a series of conversations expressing the desire to shoot people at the Astoria High School and to engage this particular 15 year old boy as a partner in the activity. Police were able to find corroborating evidence of the conversation. A search of the 16 year olds residence did not reveal any firearms. The 16 year old student lives with his mother in Astoria.

The 16 year old student was arrested by School Resource Officer Ken Hansen for Solicitation to Commit Murder. He was lodged by the Clatsop County Juvenile Department. The matter remains under investigation as Astoria Police look for further information about the potential plot. There is no current information that others are involved. Astoria Police will be interviewing witnesses and looking for any additional information.

Deputy Chief Brad Johnston said, “It is good that this 15 year old was able to see the severity of the situation and contact adults that he trusted. Early intervention in situations like this is best for all parties involved. The cooperation of schools and police during a situation like this is outstanding. While our processes run independent of each other they overlap well and we were able to keep in communication throughout the incident. Having a School Resource Officer who is in touch with the kids and knows who is who in the schools was a huge help in this investigation. He had information that would not have been available to most police officers investigating this crime because of his ability to see kids interact and understanding the dynamics at the school.”