San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) announced the arrest of a juvenile suspect in connection to the Sept. 24 false active shooter threat in San Marcos High School (SMHS).
The suspect was arrested on Dec. 5 in Whitman County, Washington and faces charges of Terroristic Threat and False Alarm/Report for the false threat regarding SMHS and other charges for similar calls.
SMPD received a 911 call from the suspect saying they saw an armed shooter in SMHS at 3:32 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The incident prompted a response from more than 150 personnel across multiple agencies. After searching SMHS, police confirmed no shots had been fired, and the event was classified as a swatting call.
“Although the call was determined to be false, the emergency response to the San Marcos High School was real with more than 150 personnel from multiple agencies arriving to the campus,” SMPD Chief Stan Standridge wrote in the press release. “We know that many in our community, including parents and school staff, were shaken by the threat. We took this investigation seriously to bring our community peace of mind and ensure the safety of students and families.”
According to the press release, information collected from data of the original phone call suggested the call was related to a series of other swatting calls across the U.S., including a false threat that targeted the Lewiston Police Department in Maine.
SMPD executed search warrants and detectives collected digital evidence from the suspect’s cell phone and computers seized at his home in Washington that linked the suspect to the calls targeting both SMHS and the Lewiston Police Department. Data found throughout the investigation has been shared with the FBI and other agencies, potentially leading to additional charges.
San Marcos CISD Superintendent Michael Cardona expressed gratitude for law enforcement’s efforts.
“This hoax caused significant fear and concern among our students, staff and families, but the recent arrest offers a sense of relief,” Cardona wrote in the press release “We appreciate the hard work and diligence of the San Marcos Police Department in bringing closure to this situation.”
The suspect’s name will not be released due to his juvenile status. He remains in custody, with his prosecution being coordinated by the Hays County District Attorney’s Office.
At a Sept. 25 SMPD press conference, San Marcos Communications played a recording of the 911 phone call reporting an armed individual at SMHS. In the call, two gunshots went off. After the first gunshot, the caller did not continue communication with the dispatcher.
“I was walking in the hallway to the bathroom and I saw a guy walking and he had a gun in his hand and I ran away and he was yelling,” the caller said on the 911 call recording. “…He told me to stop running and aimed a gun at me.”
The caller identified himself by name and provided a verified phone number. According to SMPD Chief Stan Standridge, the number that made the 911 call is connected to at least two other swatting incidents; one in Hunt County, Texas and one in Kent County, Michigan.
“San Marcos’ offense was premeditated, as evidenced by the suspect knowing the address of the high school when asked by the dispatcher and having pre-recorded sounds of gunfire or at least that mimic the sounds of gunfire,” Standridge said.
According to SB 1056, swatting is,“[When] a person reports a crime or emergency or causes any report of a crime… to be made to a law enforcement officer and the person knows that the report is false and the report is reasonably likely to cause an emergency response from a law enforcement agency.” Swatting is punishable on the federal level for up to five years in confinement, according to Standridge.
“Because this [incident] crosses state lines, [SMPD] is working closely with the FBI to identify the source of these swatting calls,” Standridge said.
Standridge said the call was untrue, as no gunshots were reported, no casings were found and no injuries were inflicted.
“We were able to disprove the call to our dispatch center in about an hour’s time,” Standridge said.
According to Standridge, there were more than 50 law enforcement officers inside the school searching all the buildings.
“[The] two gunshots prompted a large response by police, fire, [emergency medical services] and school district personnel,” Standridge said.
While the lockdown was ongoing, law enforcement officers took two female students outside the building for questioning but they were not under arrest, according to Standridge.
One of the students texted the other as the lockdown was ongoing saying she saw someone carrying a gun in the building. This information was communicated to other students making its way to San Marcos Consolidated ISD (SMCISD) officials. This information was proven to be incorrect according to Standridge. These students were not connected to the individual who made the 911 call.
“As far as the students involved, we are working with SMPD and our campus administrators are conducting their investigation and potentially, if found guilty, they would face not only criminal charges but school district charges as well,” SMCISD Superintendent Michael Cardona said.
According to Cardona, SMHS has six counselors, two social & emotional therapists and Project AWARE which is a five-year, state-funded program that “deploys evidence-based mental health resources to campuses”.
At 3:32 p.m., on Sept. 24, SMPD received a call saying there was an armed shooter in the building. This caused a complete lockdown until 5:30 p.m.
Sawyer Barnett, freshman at SMHS who was inside during the lockdown, said at first students were placed under a hold which means no one can enter or leave classrooms. However, after less than a minute, the hold shifted into a lockdown.
“We had a hold at first and I was thinking it was a little fire,” Barnett said. “Then, [the teacher] put us in a corner and told us no phones, no Chromebooks, don’t make any noise.”
At 4:40 p.m. SMPD confirmed that no shots were fired at SMHS.
Students were released from the school starting at 5:30 p.m., according to Les Stephens, San Marcos Fire Department fire chief. Parents were able to pick up their kids and leave the school.
According to the SMCISD cell phone policy, students are required to turn in phones to teachers while in the classroom, causing some frustration among parents and students with communication.
“Some kids and their parents are in the dark because [parents] can’t get ahold of their kids,” parent Jessica Almanza said.
In this situation, some students like Barnett were able to receive their phones and that’s how they got updates.
“I saw stuff from my friends on Facebook about what was going on, all of the updates and stuff,” Barnett said. “We were all silent. We were talking through our phones, we typed something up and showed each other.”
For parent Jose Cruz, his son communicated with him regularly because he had access to his phone, calming Cruz’s anxiety.
“He texts me that there was a lockdown and I just told him to stay safe in his classroom,” Cruz said. “We’ve been texting back and forth since he told me there was a lockdown.”
Cruz said he hopes this situation will show SMCISD what they need to prioritize for students.
“San Marcos only has one [public] high school,” Cruz said. “I feel for it to be safe, this whole facility should be gated all around the campus. You’re gonna spend over a million dollars on a stadium. Not everybody is about football.”
For parent Debra Falcon, this situation brought light to how serious gun violence can be for communities.
“You hear this all the time and you think it would never happen here,” Falcon said. “[My daughter] texted me when all this happened and I haven’t been able to text her back because her phone died and I’m just scared.”
SMHS will provide additional law enforcement and counseling services.
