Tuesday, May 13, 2008

FBI Thwarts Terror Threat At School

Specifically, the Upper Arlington City Schools.

From NBC4:

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio -- Classes have been canceled for a local high school as authorities investigate an online threat.

According to officials, local law enforcement are investigating recent online threats involving Upper Arlington High School, NBC 4 reported.

Officials said that federal agents notified police on Tuesday morning of suspicious online activity that was traced to an Upper Arlington home where a U.A. high school student resides.

According to a source within the district, the high school principal made an announcement at the end of the school day, directing all students to leave the school grounds immediately because of an emergency situation.

The source said the principal then called faculty and staff to gather for a meeting, in which staff members were told that the FBI somehow intercepted electronic communication that indicated that an Upper Arlington sophomore student was planning an assault on the school with guns and hand grenades -- and that his goal was to kill at least 60 people on Wednesday, May 14.

The FBI said it considers the threat to be credible, prompting the cancellation of classes.

The emergency call system was used to notify parents of the cancellation.

Authorities took one suspect into custody, who they said is cooperating with the investigation.


"Suspicious online activity". I have to wonder about that; seems like it might be anything from ranting about how the suspect would punish all those who offended them, trying to get explosives, what have you.

Tracing an IP address is laughably simple, more so when you're the FBI.

It's just a matter of identifying the ISP, ringing them up and asking for the info. If the ISP doesn't volunteer the subscriber info a warrant is required; in the case of a credible threat, warrants would seem easy to acquire on short notice.

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