TEEN CHARGED IN KENT CO. SCHOOL BOMB THREAT

(CHESTERTOWN, MD) -- Maryland State Police have charged a Kent County teenager in connection with the bomb threat last month that closed county schools for the day.

After consultation with the Kent County State’s Attorney’s Office, Maryland State Police today charged a 15-year-old male from Chestertown as a juvenile with 11 counts of threat of arson and 11 counts of disturbing school operations. He was arrested at 10:30 a.m. today. After processing, he was released to the custody of his parents. He is not being identified because he is charged as a juvenile.

The investigation began on April 3, 2012, when a handwritten note was found by school officials on a side door of the Kent Middle School in Chestertown, Md. The note said a bomb had been placed in the school and in all six other Kent County schools and they would detonate that day.

Kent County school officials immediately called police and began a reverse 911 operation to notify parents that schools would be evacuated and closed. The county high school was in session already. Students were being dropped off at the middle school and the elementary school students were not yet on their way. Students at the high school and middle school were evacuated and sent home. There are about 2,100 school students in Kent County who attend one high school, one middle school, and five elementary schools. Three private schools and the county school administration building also closed that day as a precaution.

A cooperative law enforcement effort that day brought police K-9 units into the county from across the state and each school facility was thoroughly searched. No explosive devices were found.

The Kent Bureau of Investigation, comprised of criminal investigators from the Maryland State Police, the Chestertown Police Department, and the Rock Hall Police Department, conducted a criminal investigation into the bomb threat. During the investigation, information was developed that led to the identification of a possible suspect.

Police investigators obtained handwriting samples from the suspect and forwarded them along with the original note to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Laboratory. After examination, a Maryland State Police handwriting expert confirmed the suspect was the person responsible for writing the bomb threat note. A motive for the threat has not been identified.