Gun threat shakes up Ki-Be schools

Law enforcement officers swarmed Kiona-Benton City High School on Wednesday, taking a 15-year-old away at gunpoint, after rumors that a gun was brought on campus.

No gun was found and the boy was later released and is not expected to be charged, said Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher.

Ki-Be officials heard tips from different sources just before 11 a.m. that the student had a gun in the school.

When the teen couldn’t be found in class, school officials called the emergency dispatch center to report the possible threat, Hatcher said.

The high school and the nearby elementary and middle schools were locked down, while deputies began searching the high school building and grounds.

Deputies and detectives were helped by officers from West Richland.

The 15-year-old student was found along the road between the high school and the Ki-Be Red Apple Market at 11:26 a.m.

Deputies armed with AR-15 rifles ordered the teen to drop his backpack and get on the ground, then took him away for questioning.

Hatcher said detectives also interviewed several other students who possibly had information on the rumor and the officers concluded the teen didn’t have a gun.

The schools remained locked down as a precaution until 1:15 p.m.

Still, the scare drew about two dozen parents and relatives to the parking lot of the market.

They tensely stood studying their phones as their children texted them from inside the school.

“They’re still huddled in the classroom,” relayed parent Tasha Clore.

Other parents, who didn’t want to give their names, said they wanted to see more protections, such as metal detectors and armed teachers.

And they said they would pay for it too.

Many said they were pleased with the law enforcement response and grateful that the district took the threat seriously — something they pledged to do after a murder plot was uncovered last fall.

Two Ki-Be students are charged as adults with conspiring to kill a third student, their plan only foiled at the last minute.

And while the principal heard about a possible plot fairly quickly after the near miss, he didn’t immediately call in the sheriff’s office and instead investigated on his own to determine if it was true.

The two alleged plotters, Jeremiah Cunningham and Fe Hadley, are charged in Benton County Superior Court and are awaiting trial.

Benton County Cpl. Justin Gerry said sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday were at the school within five minutes of being alerted by school staff.

The heavy response also was because of incidents across the country, said Sgt. Mathew Clarke.

“We’re all parents and grandparents so we’re going to take this seriously,” he said.

The school threat was one of seven in the past two days in Mid-Columbia schools alone.

This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Gun threat shakes up Ki-Be schools."