'Mostly a hoax:' Eugene police identify 2 students involved in South Eugene High threats

Eugene police say they have identified two South Eugene High School students involved in the four threats this month that resulted in evacuations and lockdowns.

According to police, the students and their families are cooperating with the investigation by police and the FBI. The students are not in custody and have not been charged. Information will be turned over to the Lane County District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether they will face any charges.

The students are juveniles, so neither their names nor ages are being publicly released.

Eugene Police Department  responds to a May 24 threat at South Eugene High School.
Eugene Police Department responds to a May 24 threat at South Eugene High School.

What happened?

Each of the four calls followed a similar pattern, calling into Central Lane 911 and saying that there was a bomb at the high school.

The first three had an automated voice. The fourth call was slightly different, with a male-sounding voice, preceded by a call about a gun and then a call about a bomb.

Each of the four threats of violence prompted officials to evacuate students or perform a lockdown, with classes being canceled for the day after the first two incidents.

Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner and Eugene School District Superintendent Andy Dey hold a press conference to discuss the identification of two suspects in the string of recent bomb threats at South Eugene High School.
Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner and Eugene School District Superintendent Andy Dey hold a press conference to discuss the identification of two suspects in the string of recent bomb threats at South Eugene High School.

After a police search, no bomb or other danger was found after any of the threats.

"Nonetheless, it's scary," Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said during a news conference Wednesday. "It's scary for staff. It's scary for students. It's scary for our community. So we take those things really, really serious."

Eugene School District 4J Superintendent Andy Dey said the district has not yet considered whether these students will be suspended, expelled or face other punitive action.

"We have to ensure that there is a safe environment at school," Dey said. "If there's anyone who is willfully, deliberately and repeatedly threatening the safe environment of a school, then we're going to take that very, very seriously. Consequences in school, I think are probably the least of these children's and families' concerns right now."

What has the investigation found?

According to police, investigators believe the two students used the internet to pay another person or entity to use threats of violence to shut down the school. The identity of the person paid is still under investigation, police said.

"Investigators are confident all threats were a hoax and there are not any active threats to the school," according to a police news release. "These same threats have been occurring at schools throughout the country."

Police said a 4J school official discovered an anonymous social media post on Instagram that offered to send threats for a fee. The official notified police.

The Instagram post linked to Telegram, an encrypted chatting app that has been known to be used for coordinating illegal activity, according to police. Eugene Police requested the FBI's help in investigating the social media platform.

"It's important for students to know that every time that you log on to the Internet, whether it's through sites that claim to keep you confidential or not, it's identifiable," Dey said. "It might take someone longer to find you, but it's not confidential. You do things that you're not supposed to do on the internet, and there is a trail of breadcrumbs and information bits leading back to you. So please don't think that you can get away with something like this."

This all came together on Tuesday evening, according to Eugene Police. Eugene detectives and FBI agents served a search warrant that led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices.

EPD and 4J were unable to confirm if this means an end to threat calls at South Eugene, but they are hopeful. Skinner said with the school year wrapping up, both entities will have a break this summer to gather themselves.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: 'Mostly a hoax:' Police ID 2 students involved in South Eugene threats