Bremerton student arrested for threats of school violence

An investigation of several written threats to commit violence against staff and students at Bremerton High School has led to the arrest of a student, police and school officials say.

Bremerton School District superintendent James Crawford and Bremerton police confirmed in separate statements March 14 that a student was contacted and arrested March 13. The student had made multiple written threats at the school that day.

BSD communications director Karen Bevers said the student was quickly identified and removed from class before being arrested.

“Through our investigation, this appears to be an isolated incident with no other individuals involved,” Crawford says in an online statement. “This individual will not be present at school tomorrow (March 14) and will not be returning to the Bremerton School District.”

BSD released an initial statement at 12:30 p.m. saying “threats of future violence” had been discovered. Bevers later clarified the messages were found in the stalls of several female student bathrooms and were also shared via social media. Kitsap County Superior Court records show the suspect is a girl.

Photos of the threats showed the messages left on the doors of various bathroom stalls, including statements to “shoot up” BHS, an initially vague message that prompted concerns from Northshore and Bainbridge Island school districts. The threat was ultimately pinned to Bremerton.

“We are committed to taking every threat against Bremerton schools seriously and will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” a statement from the high school says.