NAMPA — School Resource Officers acted early Tuesday evening after a man working nearby one of Nampa School District’s elementary schools allegedly made threats of violence upon a school, according to a Nampa Police Department news release.
On Tuesday at 5:27 p.m., Nampa dispatch received a call from a utility company’s administrator, who reported one of their employees “made statements to other utility company co-workers about committing school violence,” the release states.
NPD is not releasing the name of the nearby school, but said the parents who have students at the school were notified by the school.
The Idaho Press generally does not identify people charged with misdemeanor offenses.
The SROs spoke to the person who reported the incident and started looking into the allegations. After interviewing witnesses, officers spoke to the suspect at his Caldwell home.
A 26-year-old man from Caldwell was arrested on one misdemeanor charge of threatening violence upon school grounds with firearms and other deadly or dangerous weapons.
According to online court records, the Caldwell man pleaded not guilty to the charge at his arraignment on Wednesday afternoon. He is being held at Canyon County Jail on a $1 million bond with pretrial release. His next court appearance is a pre-trial conference on Oct. 2 at 10 a.m.
Nampa’s SROs confirmed the suspect and witnesses, all adults, are not Nampa School District employees and the business employing them is not working for or contracted to work for NSD. The suspect was also not on school grounds when he allegedly made the threats.
NPD stated it takes all threats against a school seriously and will investigate them to the fullest. The departments asks that you report suspicious actions and comments, or any school safety concerns to the appropriate authority.
Cpl. Chad Benson of NPD’s SRO Division spoke about the work of the officers involved.
“Once we were notified, the NPD SROs began work immediately to ensure there were no further concerns once school was back in session,” Benson said. “We believe it is everyone’s responsibility to do all we can to protect the children in our community.”
Sgt. Brandon Moerles, also of NPD’s SRO Division, said he is “pleased” with the court’s action regarding the suspect’s bond.
“It is clear these threats are taken seriously,” Moerles said.
SCHOOL DISTRICT’S RESPONSE
The Idaho Press reached out to Matt Sizemore, community and media relations manager for NSD, for a comment about the incident.
“The Nampa School District is aware of a reported threat involving one of our schools,” Sizemore said in a message. “District officials immediately coordinated with NPD as law enforcement investigated the matter.”
Sizemore said NPD confirmed the statements were made off school grounds by a person with no affiliation with NSD. Sizemore also said law enforcement determined that students and staff are safe to be at school.
“The safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority,” Sizemore said. “We take every reported concern seriously and appreciate the prompt response and continued partnership of the Nampa Police Department.”
Matthew Neil Wells is the Nampa reporter at the Idaho Press. He covers city government, crime, features, profiles on people, and events. You can follow him on X @MatthewNWells, and email him at mwells@idahopress.com.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.