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LARWILL - Threats against Whitko Middle School were taken very seriously by school officials last week.
A 13-year-old Pierceton boy was arrested Friday for writing a letter in which he allegedly threatened to shoot students at the school.
Jeffrey Baker, CR 600E, had his initial hearing Friday and was ordered detained at the Parkview Juvenile Detention Center, South Bend. He could be charged with intimidation against an employee of a school corporation, a Class D felony.
The letter was addressed to Baker's girlfriend and said he and two friends wanted to "holding the f-----g school up with guns and s--t like that." It went on to say that Baker and his friends planned to head "for the border" after the incident. Finally, the letter said "When we hold up the school, I gona blow (a student's) b---s off."
Whitley County police are handling the investigation into the two other boys mentioned in the letter because they are residents of Whitley County.
Baker allegedly admitted to writing the letter about six weeks ago but reportedly said he didn't mean anything by it.
Baker was already expelled from seventh grade in the middle school for the rest of the semester due to an unrelated problem.
School officials contacted the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Thursday when a student reportedly told an adult about the letter. The student was afraid to come to school because of the rumors of the threats, said JoElla Smyth, principal of Whitko Middle School.
The adult then called Smyth who found the note while investigating the incident.
"We took it very seriously," Smyth said.
Although the middle school is in Whitley County, the sheriff's department in Kosciusko County was called because the accused student is a Pierceton resident.
"Our hope is to get him the help he needs," Smyth said of Baker. She said she was glad that Judge Duane Huffer took the situation seriously and detained Baker.
"We are not going to put our students and school in danger," said Smyth. "We'll do what it takes to keep them safe."
Smyth said that recent school shootings in the country influenced their reaction to the letter.
"Because of what happened ... we took it seriously," she said. "We didn't want to be the victims."
Other small, rural middle schools have had significant cases of violence recently, she said. "A year ago, we may not have responded as strongly."
According to police, Baker has had no police record.
