By Scott Halasz
XENIA — A 16-year-old male was taken into custody Wednesday morning after allegedly making a threat toward Xenia High School.
According to Xenia Police, the posts on a bogus Facebook account — which indicated the building would “blow up at exactly 2:23” — were related to the recent hysteria involving clowns.
Superintendent Denny Morrison said he received a call around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday informing him of the post from “Klownin KlownKiller.”
“We immediately contacted Xenia police,” Morrison said. “The police told me very early this was a hoax because they said how many people are going to tell what time they are going to blow something up. They said it is not a credible threat at all.”
Police were able to track down the responsible person around 11:45 a.m.
“We are going to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Morrison said. “This is a serious matter. This is not a game. They induced panic. I can not speak to what the (school) punishment will be at this time but I can promise you it will be the maximum allowable.”
A One Call was made to parents, but the school remained open and did not dismiss early. Some parents did pick their kids up and those students will be excused, Morrison said.
“The safety of our students and staff is our No. 1 concern,” Morrison said. “(But) we tried to make it business as usual.”
The suspect is a Xenia High School student and was on probation at the time of the alleged offense, according to Xenia Police Captain Scott Anger.
“We will be consulting with the prosecutor’s office (Thursday) morning in reference to further charges,” Anger said via email.
