LIHUE — Police detained one person and are looking into “persons of interest” in connection to threats that forced lockdowns of school campuses in Lihue and Kapaa for over an hour Thursday.
Police later determined the threats were false, according to a county press release.
Kapaa and Kauai High schools, Kapaa Elementary and St. Catherine School were locked down about 10:15 a.m. Thursday.
“The administration was made aware this morning of an alleged threat made towards Kapaa High School,” Kauai Complex Area Superintendent Bill Arakaki wrote in a statement to The Garden Island.
A Kauai County spokesperson said the Kauai Police Department was “investigating reports of unconfirmed threats” to Kapaa High and Kauai High.
State Department of Education officials placed both campuses on lockdown, along with Kapaa Elementary School. Officials with St. Catherine School followed suit, with KPD officers posted at all four schools, the spokesperson said.
Police debunked the threats about an hour later, and school officials lifted the lockdowns about noon, according to a county spokesperson.
“No active threat was identified at any time during today’s incident,” the email said.
The county reported that police detained one suspect and identified “persons of interest” at both high schools.
Thursday’s incident was the fourth in a series of school threats made in the past month.
On Sept. 30, threats of violence forced Waimea and Kauai High schools to close early, as law-enforcement officials investigated reports of text messages about plans to “bomb every single building” on the Waimea High campus and “shoot every student and teacher” at Kauai High School.
Those two incidents came on the heels of two other threats that forced school closures just days before. Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School administrators shut down the campus after a student allegedly made threatening social media posts, and Kauai High was forced to close its doors just five days later while police investigated a threat made via text message.
A police investigation of the most recent threat is ongoing.
I think it adds up to 4 four schools on lockdown, if I’m counting correctly. Kapaa, Kauai High, Kapaa elementary and St. Catherine’s school that 4 TGI ?? Typo
They should charge the person to the fullest and make and example out of him/her. These threats are not “funny”. Make an example out of that person to send a message to other kids.
Sooooo, are we going to be informed on how these investigations have turned out? Or are we just going to sit back and let this malicious “crying wolf” BS keep happening, until we’ve all grown complacent and desensitized enough to allow a real threat in to our children’s schools…? What is the county/state, DOE, KPD, doing about this?!! This is obviously a huge problem.
There needs to be stricter laws and consequences for anyone who perpetrates false threats like these against schools, if necessary, at a state or county level.
Were these recent threats made by actual kids on island? Surely the public can be informed of that, without jeopardizing those involved or any ongoing investigations. If these aren’t local kids, why is this not being investigated by the FBI…?
This is our children’s lives… parents need more info!!!
These kids think that it is a big joke, prosecute them and expel them from enrolling in any public school within the State.
Send a strong message, IF OPA has the nerve to do something proactive.
As a mother of a WHS Freshman, I was terrified for my son and all of the students, teachers, and administrators. This is Not Funny! This needs to STOP! We need answers! We need a plan to ensure this never happens again. Those kids/adults who made these “empty threats” need to understand the emotional turmoil that is caused every single time this has happened. They need to be held accountable and made public. If you want to do this to our community, then you need to be prepared to take what comes your way. I’m hoping that HIDOE, KPD, and the FBI will announce who is responsible, what transpired, what has been done and what will be done in the future.