NORTHFIELD, Minn. — A 20-year-old St. Olaf College student is charged with multiple felonies after a search of his dorm room yielded a number of items suggesting he was planning a violent attack on campus.
The criminal complaint filed in Rice County charges Waylon Sieber Kurts with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit threats of violence and making terrorist threats. A fourth charge involves planning a theft, which is a misdemeanor.
Kurts was listed online as a St. Olaf sophomore and member of both the track and cross-country teams until charges were filed. His profile has since been removed from the school's website.
Prosecutors say a search of Kurts' room on April 5 located empty packages for high capacity magazines and ammunition; a tactical vest and knife; a list with St. Olaf Public Safety radio frequencies and numerous notebooks with "extensive writings," among other items.
St. Olaf's Public Safety Director reportedly met with Kurts, who said he believed all the firearm equipment found in his room was within school policy. He also claimed to be storing all his high-capacity magazines and ammo at a gun dealer in Burnsville and not on campus. Kurts reportedly refused to allow a search of his vehicle but said Northfield police could do so if they obtained a warrant. At that time he was suspended from the college.
Investigators looked through the notebooks recovered from the defendant's room and found:
- A hand-drawn map of Skoglund-Tostrud, the recreational facility on campus. The map includes arrows indicating a path of travel and exit path. The page immediately prior to the map had been ripped out.
- A detailed plan to steal .308 ammunition from Walmart, including call signs, materials needed, and detailed actions to avoid detection. The plans allegedly involved three individuals and detailed, to the second, what needed to occur for a successful theft. The plan included the use of radios.
- Notes with instructions on creating what Kurts labeled a “shoot house.” A shoot house, or kill house, is an indoor firing range typically used to train military and law enforcement personnel in close-quarters combat.
St. Olaf Public Safety officials contacted Northfield police the afternoon of April 5, and a search for Kurts began. He was located and arrested outside an Edina business on Thursday, April 6.
After obtaining a warrant investigators seized Kurts' vehicle and cell phone, which reportedly documented a number of text conversations with an alleged conspirator. They involved everything from handheld radio frequencies to building and modifying rifles, and shipping items to different locations so packages would not be flagged as suspicious and the school wouldn't "freak out." Prosecutors say one particular text string included photos from Kurts showing a box full of rifle magazines sitting on a bench on St. Olaf campus with the caption “Kids’ve got no idea whats in here, haha.”
Investigators say the two also discussed purchasing handguns from unlicensed sellers.
A notebook recovered from the defendant's vehicle reportedly contained the following notes:
- Combat is much faster and closer than you think
- The average door takes 2.5 kicks
- One shot to the T-box equals death instantly
Another page was titled “Things to be Good at” and included these items:
- Within 7 yards make every shot as fast as you can prep trigger. 2-3” circle.
- 7/10 people shot with handguns survive. Shoot a lot.
- Shoot a person in 3 areas: Upper thorasic, T-zone on face, Pelvis is a good target.
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