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Student charged with inducing panic

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MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP – A 17-year-old Greenon High School student was arrested on Monday for allegedly inducing panic after Clark County Sheriff’s investigators determined the teen had made a bomb threat to the high school.

Mad River Township Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Wise reported to township trustees during Monday, Oct. 5 township meeting that students and staff were promptly evacuated and taken to the school’s football stadium after the student showed a staff member a text message she received indicating that an explosive device was on the premises of the high school.

Wise said students and staff were allowed to return to class approximately an hour later after county deputies performed an extensive search of the high school building and grounds but found nothing suspicious. He noted that the deputies then continued their investigation which led to the student’s arrest.

“The (teen) was taken to the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center and charged with inducing panic, which is a felony,” Wise said.

The township sheriff’s deputy noted that the student is a juvenile. Therefore, her name was not released to the public.

According to a press release from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the student, who received the threatening message, claimed she was involved in an ongoing dispute with a former female student of Greenon High School, and the two girls had apparently exchanged a number of hostile text messages. However, investigators determined that the student, who received the threatening message, had sent the message to herself from another device.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office also reported that a 15-year-old male student was taken to the county juvenile detention center and charged with misconduct at an emergency after he attempted to leave school grounds during the evacuation. The allegedly student became belligerent with school officials and sheriff’s deputies when he was told to return to the school’s grounds.

Mad River Township Trustee Kathy Estep told Wise that she had been concerned about the incident and inquired why members of the Mad River Township and Hustead Fire and EMS had not been notified about the bomb threat at the time of the incident. Wise told Estep that Sergeant Kristopher Shultz, with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, was handling the investigation and could answer her questions.

By Linda Collins

For the Herald

Linda Collins is a freelance reporter for Greene County News.