Two juveniles are now in custody after a pair of high school football games were canceled in Thurston County Friday amid threats of violence, according to information provided by school district and law enforcement officials.
On Friday, the Centralia-Rochester football game was canceled first, with school district leaders noting there had been a “credible threat” that led to safety concerns.
A short time later, the Tumwater Police Department announced plans for an increased law enforcement presence at the Black Hills-Tumwater football game.
Then, the Tumwater School District pulled the plug on the Pioneer Bowl altogether.
“As the investigation continues, and out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to cancel tonight's Pioneer Bowl event,” the district wrote Friday. “The safety and security of our students, staff, families and community remain our highest priority. This decision was not made lightly.”
As of Sunday, both games had been rescheduled, and two juvenile suspects are in custody.
Tumwater and Black Hills will play at 6 p.m. Monday at Tumwater High School Stadium., according to the Tumwater HS Football Facebook page.
According to the Tumwater Police Department, a 14-year-old from King County was arrested and placed in custody of the Thurston County Community Youth Service for threats to bomb or injure property over the weekend.
“With the cooperation of a family member, the juvenile was safely taken into custody this evening at the Tumwater Police Department without incident,” the department wrote in an updated statement.
Tumwater police said there are no additional arrests expected in the case.
“We appreciated the diligence and efforts of the involved investigators, as well as the collaboration with the TSD, to ensure the safety of all involved,” Tumwater police stated.
Rochester and Centralia will play at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, at Rochester High School.
“The situation has been addressed by the school districts and law enforcement,” Rochester Superintendent Justin Black and Centralia Superintendent Lisa Grant wrote in a joint statement posted to social media Sunday. “The situation that caused the game to be canceled on Friday did not start at either of the schools. It started at a party last weekend. But when we got the report that the situation would be brought to a school activity, we needed to react, and that is why the game had to be canceled.”
The statement continued: “There will be an increased law enforcement presence at the game to provide additional safety and security for everyone in attendance. We understand that the events surrounding Friday's cancellation may have caused concern for our students, families, and communities. Please know that the safety of our students, staff, families, and spectators remains our highest priority. Both Rochester and Centralia school districts are committed to taking the necessary precautions to provide a safe environment for this event. We appreciate the cooperation, patience, and understanding of our families and communities as we work through this situation. We also appreciate the partnership between our two school districts and local law enforcement. Safety will always come first and foremost for both Rochester and Centralia school districts. We look forward to supporting our student-athletes as they return to the field on Monday. Thank you for your continued trust and support.”
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders shed additional light on the situation in Rochester on Sunday.
In a social media post, he said the sheriff’s office’s Rochester District School resource officer began investigating a “credible threat of gun violence that was potentially going to occur at the game.”
“While the concern of gun violence was legitimate, challenges in the investigation arose with individuals who declined to cooperate,” Sanders wrote. “As such, probable cause was established for disturbing school activities, a misdemeanor. The case is still under further investigation, and anyone with information is requested to come forward.”
He said anyone with information relevant to the case is asked to call 360-704-2740 or provide an online tip at https://tinyurl.com/mwb4krep.
Sanders said that within an hour of the original report, the Washington State Patrol located the 15-year-old juvenile suspect during a traffic stop. He was placed under arrest and handed over to the sheriff’s office, which transported him to Thurston County Community Youth Services for booking.
The juvenile was then declined for booking “due to Youth Services policy as the crime did not meet the threshold for booking,” Sanders wrote.
“During this event, there was a breakdown of communication internally at the sheriff’s office and the juvenile was released from police custody after being declined at juvenile detention without us further pressing the issue with juvenile detention staff,” Sanders wrote. “While we generally do not book juveniles for misdemeanors, this was an obvious exception and a clear need to deviate from that practice. A notification should have been made up the chain of command, but I failed to communicate that ahead of time and for that I apologize to Thurston and Lewis County residents. I did not learn of the juvenile being refused and released until late Saturday night, at which point I immediately began making phone calls to understand what happened. After a short call with Youth Services, they advised they would make a booking exception and take the juvenile so long as the extenuating circumstances were documented on the booking form. I contacted the night shift commander and requested patrol deputies relocate the suspect and book them into juvenile detention. Within 30 minutes of that request, the juvenile was back in custody and subsequently booked into youth services.
“As Sheriff I take full responsibility for the breakdown in this incident, and we will debrief internally in the coming weeks to ensure our staff understand that if they run into external resistance in scenarios like this that the issues are properly escalated as high as they need to go, even if that means escalating to the elected official level at 10 p.m. on a Friday night, to ensure we are addressing school gun violence and threats appropriately.”
In their original statement on Friday, the Centralia and Rochester school district recognized the student, who was not named, who first reported the concern.
“Speaking up when something doesn’t seem right is an important part of keeping our schools and communities safe,” the statement read. “We encourage all students and families to continue reporting any information that could impact the safety of others.”
