Gibson County Sheriff reacts to recent school threat arrests

GIBSON COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) — Law enforcement in Gibson County is urging parents to talk with children after a surge in school threats, some of which ended with an arrest.

“If you threaten any sort of violence in my schools in Gibson County, whether that be public schools or provincial schools….if you come in and threaten or do any violence, you will be met with an overwhelming deadly force,” says Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven.

The latest arrest happened today during lunch. Sheriff Vanoven says a student made verbal threats at Haubstadt Community School. He says the student was quickly removed from the school as authorities investigated. He says the student was eventually taken to a juvenile facility and faces a status intimidation charge.

“Threat of a forceable felony is basically what it is. Juveniles are not charged with crimes, they are charged with status offenses. If the prosecutors see where there is a level of agitation, it could be moved to adult court. But I do not see that happening in this case,” says Sheriff Vanoven.

Sheriff Vanoven says this is the third threat his office has investigated since September 11th. The first threat was reported a day later in Fort Branch, Vanoven says deputies arrested a student after they allegedly threatened classmates and the school during homeroom. The student was taken to a juvenile detention facility and charges were filed. That same day, Vanoven says a threat was made to Wood Memorial High School on Tiktok. He says that the post was not credible and was part of a recent nationwide trend impacting schools across the country.

The sheriff says the threats and social media are getting out of control, and says something needs to be done. He urges parents to sit down with their kids and talk about the consequences of threatening posts and statements.

“When there are tough issues, you have to have tough conversations. And it is not pleasant but this is a child’s eternity we are dealing with, the rest of their lives. So I think that we have an obligation as parents to have these tough conversations,” Sheriff Vanoven says.

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