KINGSTON — An 18-year-old Kingston man is expected to make an initial appearance in Kitsap County District Court at 3 p.m. Sept. 8 on allegations he threatened violence against Kingston High School.
The suspect was booked into Kitsap County Jail on charges of felony harassment and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Total bail was set at $200,000.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s patrol deputies initiated the investigation the afternoon of Sept. 4 following a 9-1-1 report made by Kingston High School security officers. School authorities reported that a former male KHS student had reportedly voiced threats to others in the community that, “One of these days I’m gonna walk in and shoot up the school!,” according to a report by sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson.
Witnesses to these threats contacted KHS officials that day about their concerns over what they had heard and what they had observed. The threats to cause violence at KHS were reportedly made on more than one occasion, Wilson reported. “Witnesses also reported that the young man had access to firearms and had displayed these weapons as a point of emphasis,” Wilson reported.
Sheriff’s detectives were advised of these threats and investigated. “Deputies and detectives learned that the 18-year-old suspect had been expelled from KHS during the 2013-14 academic school year for narcotics offenses, and was reportedly very angry over this action and his situation in life,” Wilson reported.
Sheriff’s patrol deputies were at KHS to assist with student security earlier Sept. 5, Wilson reported. At that time, sheriff’s detectives contacted the suspect at his residence in Kingston. He was placed into custody at 9:43 a.m.
Detectives conducted consent searches of the man’s bedroom, along with searches of a safe located in the bedroom of his parents and a vehicle usually driven by the suspect. Detectives located a loaded Walther .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun under the driver’s seat and a loaded Bersa .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun in the safe.
Additionally, the suspect in this investigation currently is on probation for a narcotics offense and is under the age of 21, making it illegal for him to possess a firearm, Wilson reported.
