Late Monday night, the Mount Gilead Police Department was notified that a student at Mount Gilead High School had made statements indicating that they were planning a school shooting on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Officers of the Mount Gilead Police Department, with assistance from the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and Galion Police Department, investigated the complaint overnight, according to a press release from village Chief of Police Adam Lakey.

Tuesday morning, a search warrant was obtained for the suspect’s residence and an arrest warrant (Felony-2 Inducing Panic) was obtained for the suspect.

Due to the nature of the threat, it was recommended that classes be canceled until the situation could be contained. As the investigation was still ongoing, it was recommended that the nature of the closure not be disclosed until after the suspect had been apprehended to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

In conjunction with Morrow County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Detectives, the search warrant was executed at the residence and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. No firearms were located inside the residence, he said.

During interview, the suspect admitted to making the statements, but claimed that they were merely a joke and that there was no real intention of causing harm to anyone.

The suspect was incarcerated at a juvenile detention facility pending a hearing in Morrow County Juvenile Court. This incident remains under investigation, Lakey said.

Staff Report