Springboro boy detained 10 days in latest school threat case

A Springboro High School student will remain in the Warren County Detention Center, at least until Friday, in the latest case stemming from a false threat of gun violence in the school district.

The boy, 16, of Clearcreek Twp., was detained on Dec. 4 after handing a note to another student, saying he had a gun.

When the student asked if he was joking, he said, “No, you’re first,” according to the incident report.

The boy was charged with making false alarms and disorderly conduct and taken to the Warren County Detention Center.

The case is the third in Springboro involving a false threat of a school shooting since the beginning of the school year.

It was apparently the latest in a series of false threats made in recent years at schools around the area as real school shootings are committed around the U.S., including one in the Madison Schools in Butler County, where four students were injured.

“The whole world is on edge now and you just added fuel to it,” Warren County Juvenile Court Judge Joe Kirby said during the second of two school-threat case hearings one day in February 2018.

RELATED: 12-year-old sentenced in one of 18 school threat cases since deadly 2018 school shooting

In the recent Springboro cases, a former high school freshman triggered a police response on Aug. 29, by telling a friend in math class to wear red to avoid getting shot. This was repeated in the locker room after football practice, prompting another student to call his coach, who called police.

It was the second time this student was charged and convicted with making false alarms at a Springboro school.

On Nov. 15, a 12-year-old boy was detained after allegedly hanging up after making two 911 calls near the school and a third call claiming “someone had a gun” at the school, prompting a lockdown during a junior-high dance.

RELATED: Boy charged in Springboro school dance lockdown home for Thanksgiving

On Dec. 4, the parent’s call to the school prompted an investigation by school officials and police that “deemed the threat was non-credible,” according to a letter sent to parents.

The boy was removed from class “in less than two minutes” and his locker searched.

No gun was found or anyone harmed.

“Classes continued,” the letter continued.

"In the interest of transparency, we wanted our parents to be aware of this incident," the letter said, referring parents to the district's Student Safety Reporting/District Bullying Report web page.

On Dec. 5, Magistrate Jennifer Coatney ruled the boy should remain in detention.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell and defense lawyer Thomas Diehl declined to comment.

The boy is to undergo a risk assessment before the next hearing, scheduled for Friday, Dec. 13.

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