Student arrested after threatening to ‘shoot up’ West High, Anchorage police say

A student was arrested Friday afternoon after threatening on social media to “shoot up” West High, the Anchorage Police Department said in an alert.

A school resource officer assigned to the school responded after a staff member reported the threat, police said.

West High principal Sven Gustafson said in an email to parents Friday that students told a staff member about the threat just after lunch.

The school went into “stay put” mode while the threat was investigated, and within minutes it was determined the school was in no danger, Gustafson said. The school was no longer in stay put mode by Friday afternoon.

“Stay put” mode is when the outer doors of the building are locked and a step before “lock down,” when doors are locked as are all classrooms, according to Anchorage School District spokeswoman Lisa Miller.

The parents of the student who made the threat were notified and the student was remanded to McLaughlin Youth Center on charges of terroristic threatening, police said.