Kirkland Student Faces Felony Charges After Posting Social Media Threats, Prosecutors Say

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King County prosecutors Tuesday charged an 18-year-old Kirkland student with two counts of felony harassment for allegedly threatening to kill two classmates.

Prosecutors say the student, a Juanita High School senior, posted a threatening message Sunday on Instagram referencing last month's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults.

In his post, the student urged people not to give him a reason for violence, writing that school shootings are avoidable if everyone is kind to one another, according to probable cause documents.

The Seattle Times typically names adults when they have been charged, but is not in this case because it concerns a high school student.

He also wrote that his father had a gun, sent photos of a shotgun and rifle cases in a direct message to a fellow student and directly threatened another student, the probable cause documents allege.

The post spread fear among dozens of parents and students, according to court documents. Area 911 dispatchers received 55 calls about the post and direct messages some students received from the student, according to Kirkland police.



His father took him to a police station to be interviewed at the request of law enforcement, according to court documents.

The 18-year-old said he was bullied and had "had enough," so he made the post to scare people into being nice to him, according to Kirkland police. He said he didn't intend for his posts to be taken literally and didn't know if he wanted to carry out a school shooting, police reported.

He also told detectives that his intention was to scare people and he had a list of people he wanted to harm or "get rid of," and that he didn't intend to hurt anyone who wasn't "guilty," documents say.

He told detectives he felt he couldn't risk talking with a mental health professional about his thoughts of harming people who bullied him, according to court documents.

The state ordered him not to directly contact any students he's accused of threatening, acquire guns or other weapons or go to any Lake Washington School District property, according to court documents.

He remained in custody as of Tuesday evening with bail set at $99,000, according to Kirkland police. He has not yet been assigned a lawyer, according to the King County Superior Court Clerk's Office.