Students face charges relating to threat at Hutch High School
Hannah Davis Hannah Davis, hdavis@kwch.com
POSTED: 10:16 PM CDT Apr 29, 2015

Update: All five teens arrested in connection to the threat have been charged with two counts each: Solicitation to Commit Murder in the First Degree and Criminal Threat. The charges have been filed with Reno County District Court.

KWCH reached out to all five families. No one wanted to talk on camera, but the parents we talked to said the boys would never hurt anyone.

Parents say there was no plot to kill, there was no hit list and that the threat being talked about was an inside joke in the group that got blown out of proportion.

None of the families we talked to has seen or talked to the teenagers since their arrest.

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Students at Hutchinson High School say they're surprised to hear about the arrests of five classmates accused of making threats toward the school.

"I'm completely and utterly shocked that there's somebody that would want to come into our school and harm us," said Dawson Lehman. "I'm gonna hold my friends a lot closer."

Students we spoke with say they love Hutch High and they feel safer knowing that police took the threats seriously.

"Even if they were joking, because how would they know," said Duilan Drumm. "Nobody ever knows if they're joking or not."

Those five teenagers were arrested Wednesday. Police say they face charges of Solicitation to Commit First Degree Murder.

We spoke with USD 308 Superintendent Dr. Shelly Kiblinger Thursday morning. She says the school first became aware of the threats Monday afternoon. A parent called the principal to let him know about threatening statements on social media. The principal called police and the superintendent.

Kiblinger says they consulted with police and determined there was NOT an imminent threat on Tuesday, so they let law enforcement do their investigation and make the arrests.

She also says this is a learning moment for all students. While some of the teens who were arrested say they were joking, the district says it must take all threats seriously.

The charges are in connection to threats made toward Hutchinson High School through social media.

"There have been comments on social media sites and resulted in the apprehension of these individuals today," Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder said, "The allegations, they were alleged to have mutually encouraged each other to commit the crime of first degree murder."

Schroeder told us he couldn't discuss whether there were specific targets, but says parents should have no reason to be concerned for their student's safety.

"I don't think there's any reason for them to be concerned," Schroeder said. "Obviously we think the threat has been dealt with."

He says threats like there are not taken lightly, whether it was a serious threat or just a joke.

"If it was intended as a joke, I'm not laughing and neither are any of the parents at Hutchinson High school," Schroeder said.

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The news release sent out Wednesday evening from Hutchinson Police Capt. Troy Hoover is as follows:

On Monday, April 27, 2015 investigators of the Hutchinson Police Department began an investigation into threats to commit violence at Hutchinson High School. The investigation revealed that some of threats were made through Facebook. Five juveniles were identified as participants in making the threats. After investigators consulted with the Reno County District Attorney's Office a determination was made to arrest each juvenile for Solicitation to Commit 1st Degree Murder.
http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/five-teens-arrested-in-connection-to-threat-at-hutchinson-high-school/32653846