Investigation ongoing in school shooting threat

No charges had been filed as of Friday involving a potential shooting threat that led to police officers being stationed in all Havre public schools, and Havre’s chief of police said the investigation is ongoing.

Chief Gabe Matosich said Thursday that a lot of work goes into determining whether the threats made can be considered credible. It’s not as easy as charging someone for saying something, he added.

“You have to break it down,” he said. You have to look at all the elements of the statute, and then you have to have probable cause. We have to take our time and look at all of that. We don’t want to rush to judgment.”

A report Feb. 16 of a shooting threat directed toward Havre High School prompted the police department to deploy the officers to all public schools the next day.

Matosich cited state code for the definition of intimidation as an example, an offense that someone involved in the threat could be charged with.

Montana law says, “A person commits the offense of intimidation when, with the purpose to cause another to perform or to omit the performance of any act, the person communicates to another, under circumstances that reasonably tend to produce a fear that it will be carried out, a threat to perform without lawful authority any of the following acts: inflict physical harm on the person threatened or any other person; subject any person to physical confinement or restraint; or commit any felony.

“A person commits the offense of intimidation if the person knowingly communicates a threat or false report of a pending fire, explosion, or disaster that would endanger life or property,” part two of the law says.

Matosich said he hopes the investigation will be concluded this week, and if enough evidence is found to charge the juveniles — he said he believed all of the people being investigated for the threat are juveniles — the case will be looked at by the Hill County attorney.

Havre Public School Superintendent Andy Carlson said Friday he could not say whether those being investigated are all Havre High students and whether they are still going to school while the threat is being investigated.

Carlson said school was never canceled, there was no lockdown, no one was hurt and the 9C basketball tournament was held despite the threat.  

“Our law enforcement did a fabulous job,” he said.