13-year-old arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threat at Cottonwood school

A 13-year-old student at Mountain View Preparatory School was arrested Thursday after the administration learned of him telling classmates about a "kill list."

Administration at the school was told on Wednesday by students about what the 13-year-old student said, according to a statement from the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District.

Cottonwood police said in a statement that Mountain View Prep teachers reported that multiple students had told them that a boy was making direct threats at them, saying "you're on my kill list."

The student was removed from the class by the school's principal, who alerted the superintendent and District Threat Assembly Team. It was then determined by the principal, school safety officer, school counselor and the district's prevention specialist to be a credible threat.

Through interviews with students and staff, officers learned that the boy had made statements about students who were and were not on the "kill list." Police reported the teen said he had no real intention to harm anyone.

Officers said they have no evidence to support the existence of a physical list.

Initially, the student was sent home with an authorized adult under disciplinary action with additional consequences pending the outcome of the investigation, according to a district statement.

According to the statements, the boy was arrested Thursday evening and was being held at the Yavapai County Juvenile Detention Center on the charges of threatening or intimidating, interference or disruption of an educational institution, and making a terroristic threat.

"We continue to urge families to maintain an open dialogue with their children and school staff by reinforcing the need to speak to trusted adults. In this situation, effective communication and efficient response by school professionals worked as it should. The Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District will continue to utilize our training, preparedness, and resources to engage in preventative measures to keep our school community safe," said Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District superintendent Steve King.

No other information was released.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cottonwood student arrested on suspicion of making threats at school