EDINA, Minn. — Police said a 17-year-old Minneapolis boy is under arrest after a "credible threat" prompted Edina Public Schools to move Edina High School and Valley View Middle School to online learning on Friday.
A letter was sent to staff and families on Friday morning, stating a person with a weapon was reported on the high school campus on Thursday, though that person was never inside the building.
In a news release on Friday afternoon, Edina police said a teenage boy had recorded a Snapchat video of himself holding a semi-automatic handgun while in the Edina High School parking lot on Thursday. Police said the video also showed the doors of the school with the caption, "Come outside, b****."
Edina police said they worked with the FBI and Minneapolis Police Department to track down the teen to a home in Minneapolis on Friday morning, where they determined the teen was not a current or former student at Edina High School.
The teen was arrested and brought to the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center. At a news conference, Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn said two potential felony charges are under consideration, including threats of violence and carrying a firearm on school property, but the final decision will be up to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the District has made the decision to move Edina High School and Valley View Middle School to online learning while the investigation continues," Edina Public Schools said in its letter to parents on Friday morning.
Edina High School and Valley View Middle School are located adjacent to each other off Valley View Road.
Following the arrest, after-school activities were set to go on as scheduled on Friday afternoon, and in-person classes will resume Monday.
Edina Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Stacie Stanley praised the partnership with Edina PD for helping keep students and schools safe, noting additional security was sent to both schools and a nearby elementary school, Creek Valley, on Friday morning. Chief Milburn said additional Edina police officers will also be on campus on Monday.
"We are here to make certain students and our staff have that psychological safety that they need in preparing to come back to school Monday," Dr. Stanley said.
Richard Doyle, a parent of two children at Creek Valley Elementary, said he was startled by the news that Edina High and Valley View Middle had gone to remote learning. Creek Valley did not switch to distance learning.
"My kids' elementary school being 0.2 miles away, we were just anxious because there was no information as to what was happening at that school," Doyle said. "It's the world we live in, unfortunately."
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