On Tuesday, Bellevue police arrested two juveniles on suspicion of making online threats.
On Monday evening, three high school students called police to report that online threats had been made to shoot them.
“It got to a point where they realized this was more than just typical banter. This became a real, credible and imminent threat,” said Bellevue Police Chief Joe Nault.
The suspects, a man and a woman, used social media to threaten to find and shoot the victims at their high schools, police said.
“That they would carry out their threats there if necessary,” Nault added.
The victims all go to segregated high schools.
The victims told police that the male suspect sent a video showing a gun and ammunition.
Police searched the female suspect’s home, but were denied entry by the male suspect’s parents.
While police waited for a search warrant to enter the home, the female suspect attempted to escape through the back of the home before being captured.
Both suspects were arrested.
Bellevue police told KIRO 7 that one suspect was a student in the Bellevue School District and the other was a student in the Issaquah School District.
According to Bellevue police, guns and ammunition were found in the home.
“All of us – youth, parents and everyone in the community – must take threats of violence seriously, but especially threats of gun violence – whether in person or online,” said Bellevue Police Captain Shelby Shearer. “Fortunately, with timely and critical help from the community, the Bellevue Police Department was able to interrupt this escalation of threats, take the two people into custody and take their firearms from them before a tragedy occurred in our community.”
The police stopped the action several hours before the threats could become reality.
“It does happen and just like knowing the world we live in, it’s scary,” said Antonia, a student at Newport High School.
Antonia received an email from the school praising the students for reporting the threats to the police.
“I hear a lot about it and it’s sad to say that I think a lot of people are becoming desensitized to it,” Antonia added. “It was quite scary knowing that my brothers and sisters were at school.”
It’s the quick actions of the victims that could have been a matter of life or death, according to Nault.
“We have prevented incidents that I am convinced would have resulted in shootings if we had not become involved,” Nault said.
The police are still investigating, but do not believe there is a threat to the community.
