Student arrested after threats at South Medford HS

Medford, Ore — A South Medford student makes what school officials call a terrible attempt at a joke, a threat of a school shooting posted on a social media app.

School officials say the threat was posted on Snapchat, a picture sharing app.

While they found the threat to be non-credible they still took it very seriously.

South Medford high school principal Damian Crowson says the student wrote on a bathroom wall that a school shooting would happen on January 27th.

The student then took a picture and sent the threat to 60 people via Snapchat.

Principal Crowson says the quick thinking of a fellow student brought the threat to light.

“We appreciate the student did the right thing and had a relationship with a staff member that they trusted and they communicated that through the proper channels and we had a great response to this potential,” said Principal Crowson.

One student who received the message says she didn’t think much of it at the time but now understands the consequences.

“Yeah, now that I know that they take it so serious and that they’re so concerned now, yeah,” said Iridian Duenas, a South Medford High student.

The student told police the threat was a joke. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and also faces expulsion.

In a separate incident, North Medford High School was on lockout earlier this afternoon after reports of a man with a gun in a nearby apartment.

Medford police say the subject was suicidal. That situation was resolved and no one was hurt.

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Matt Jordan is the Chief Meteorologist for KOBI-TV NBC5. Matt joined the NBC5 weather team in 2014 after a year as a reporter and anchor in Alexandria, Louisiana. His experience with the severe weather of the Deep South and a love of the Pacific Northwest led him to pursue a certification with Mississippi State University as a Broadcast Meteorologist. You can find Matt working in the evenings of NBC5 News at 5, 6 and 11 as well as online. Matt also has a degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon. In addition to being passionate about news and weather, Matt is a BIG Oregon Ducks fan. When not rooting for the Ducks or tracking down the next storm over the Pacific, Matt can be found outdoors in the Oregon wilderness with his wife, his daughter and their dogs Stanley and Gordi.
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