Pellet gun seized, 12-year-old detained over Shawnee County school shooting text messages

Shawnee County Sheriff's deputies detained a 12-year-old and seized a Glock Airsoft pellet gun after the youth sent text messages referencing a potential school shooting, Sheriff Brian C. Hill's office said late Friday afternoon on Facebook.

The name of the youth and the school involved weren't being made public.

The sheriff's office was contacted just before 8:45 p.m. Thursday by an "attentive parent" who found photos and text messages on their child's cell phone that reference a potential school shooting, Hill said.

"The pictures and text messages reported by the attentive parent had been sent to their child from another juvenile's cell phone," he said. "Law enforcement officers were then able to confirm the identity of the juvenile responsible for sending the pictures and threatening text messages."

Sheriff's deputies investigated, conducted a home assessment, questioned the parents of the 12-year-old, seized a black Glock Airsoft pellet gun, detained the youth in connection with making a criminal threat and transported the youth to Shawnee County juvenile intake and assessment, Hill said.

He encouraged parents to talk with their children "about the seriousness and potential consequences from this type of conduct."

The circumstances involved remained under investigation, Hill said.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Pellet gun seized, 12-year-old detained over Shawnee County school shooting text messages