Charges: Custodian's tip led to St. Olaf student's alleged plan for 'mass casualty event'

Police confiscated from a St. Olaf College student's dorm room numerous ammunition magazines, knives and a host of other items that officials believe were part of a potential "mass casualty event" on campus, according to charges and other documents filed Monday.

Waylon S. Kurts, 20, was charged in Rice County District Court with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence and terroristic threats in connection with the vast amount of evidence located in his room and vehicle last week.

Kurts, a sophomore from Montpelier, Vt., and member of the college's track team, was spotted Thursday by Northfield police while driving on France Avenue in Edina and arrested in a retail parking lot with help from other agencies.

Kurts, who was suspended from the private school in Northfield, appeared in court Monday, remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail and is due back in court on April 21.

In a memo that was submitted to the court a few hours after the charges were filed, the County Attorney's Office summed up the totality of the evidence against Kurts and alleged that he "had been planning a mass casualty event. ... At this stage in the investigation, it appears that the targeted building was Skoglund-Tostrud (the recreational facility on campus) and that both firearms and explosives would be used in an attack."

The memo also said the evidence "suggests that he was not alone in planning this mass casualty event. At this time, it is unclear who Kurts was targeting whether students, faculty, staff, or law enforcement. At this time no firearms have been recovered."

According to the criminal complaint:

The items seized from Kurts' room included: a tactical vest, empty boxes for ammunition and magazines, a tactical knife, a folding knife, firearm earmuffs, six propane canisters, fireworks, lighter fluid, a battery with wires and a lock pick set.

Police also collected notebooks with extensive writings that included a plot to steal ammunition from a retailer, police radio frequencies and "a hand-drawn map of Skoglund-Tostrud, the recreational facility on campus. The map includes arrows delineating a path of travel, apparently an exit path."

A law enforcement search of Kurts' phone revealed text messages of him discussing buying guns from unlicensed sellers. The person he was texting with wasn't identified.

Kurts texted photos of a box filled with rifle magazines on a campus bench and the words, "Kids've got no idea whats in here, haha," the charges continued.

A shooting range and gun shop in Burnsville told police that Kurts had visited "several times to shoot," the complaint read.

Police recovered from Kurts' vehicle notes that allegedly read "combat is much faster and closer than you think," "the average door takes 2.5 kicks" and training directions for where on the body to shoot a person.

Kurts' family told Northfield police that all his guns were in their Vermont home and he wasn't doing any shooting in Minnesota.

St. Olaf officials first became suspicious of Kurts on Wednesday, when a custodian saw two empty packages belonging to Kurts for high-capacity magazines in a garbage can outside some dorm rooms.

Defense attorney Paul Rogosheske countered with explanations for each of the items from Kurts and said that his client is an avid camper who "shoots a lot" with his family back in Vermont.

Rogosheske acknowledged that Kurts "has some things that look funny, [but] the state has nothing there that is a threat against anybody."

The attorney pointed out there were no guns or ammunition taken during the searches of his dorm and vehicle. He explained that the map was something he drew for someone else. "He draws a lot of maps," Rogosheske said.

Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott said the investigation continues and includes trying to determine what actions, if any, Kurts had in mind with everything he had gathered and written.

Campus police had an earlier encounter with Kurts, the complaint read. Around 2 a.m. on Dec. 19, a police officer saw him peering into the windows of several vehicles. Kurts explained that "he was trying to act suspicious to see if the officer would come over to him," according to Monday's charges.