Boy arrested after making threats that closed 3 Renton schools

Renton police have arrested a 14-year-old boy after threats he allegedly made led to canceled classes for 3 schools.

“They monitored him.” said Renton Police spokesperson Meeghan Black. “Got eyes on him and they took him into custody without incident.”

Students at Renton High School, Nelsen Middle School and the Renton Academy were told to stay home last night because of threats made online.

Renton police said the suspect is also responsible for a threat against Nelson on Thursday when he allegedly said that a gun was inside the school.

“The threats were specific enough that it caused significant alarm with our detectives and so they reached out to the Renton School District,” Black said.

Police say they know the 14-year-old suspect well, and there may be accomplices.

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Neighbor Robert DeLancey said he thinks school officials made the right decision.

“You have to err on the side of safety when it comes to threats,” he said. “I’d rather the schools be closed than risk their safety.”

The owner of a local pub seemed very surprised that this would continue.

The Renton Police Department said they are still investigating just how far these threats go.

The school district posted a notice on its website and said that the police were looking for someone who was not a student.

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The district said it will continue to work closely with police Friday and over the weekend to be ready to return the three schools to regular hours on Monday morning.

It said it would send another communication to families no later than Sunday with an update about Monday’s schedule at the three affected schools.

Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba/MyNorthwest and James Lynch/KIRO Newsradio