Suspect arrested for making threats that led two charter schools in St. Paul call off classes

St. Paul police have arrested a juvenile suspect who admitted to making online threats that led two charter schools to call off classes Thursday.

Police said the suspect did not have the means or desire to carry out the threats made against the Community School of Excellence and Hope Community Academy.

“There is no ongoing threat at this time, but we don’t know if this is the only person sharing these disturbing messages,” police said in a social media post. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement and school partners to ensure safety at all our schools.”

School administrators at the two schools called off classes to “ensure the safety of all students and staff” after the threats appeared online late Wednesday. Police said they are “working diligently” with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and St. Paul Public Schools to investigate the posts.

With the word of an arrest, officials at Community of Excellence said they were confident it would be safe for students to return to school Friday.

The postings espousing school violence have been on the increase across the country recently and come after a Sept. 4 school shooting in Georgia that left two teachers and two students dead, authorities said.

“This evening, the focus has turned towards schools here locally,” Sgt. Mike Ernster said Wednesday night. “We do not believe these threats are credible at this time.”

Threats alleging school violence, including shootings, have been circulating online across the nation through social media channels such as TikTok and Snapchat, according to a statement on the St. Paul Public Schools’ website.

The charter schools are not part of St. Paul Public Schools.

Classes went on as scheduled Thursday at Hmong College Prep Academy, another school that was mentioned in online threats, said Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon.

“Following a law enforcement presence earlier this morning, a private security firm is now on campus and will remain during school hours today,” he said.

On Wednesday, a threat in Plainview, Minn., led authorities to search students before they were allowed into a building serving seventh- and eighth-graders. Lockers and grounds also were searched after the school received a threat that came from an unknown Snapchat account, police said.