Boy sits in Atascosa County Jail for 11 days after being arrested and taken away from school

A Karnes City 8^th grade student remains in custody at the Atascosa County Jail after being arrested at school April 27 for allegedly having made a terroristic threat the day before.

The boy was escorted to the front seat of a police car and taken away from the school but he was not handcuffed.

The boy whose name was not released by police was believed to pose a serious threat to the safety of students at Karnes City Junior High, according to Karnes City Police Chief Eddie Salas and Karnes County Attorney Bobby Busselman.

The boy allegedly expressed his frustration with a list of students via the Internet during a private chat conversation between friends after school hours. After saying he had been bullied and picked on and was tired of it, the student mentioned "getting even," according to a report released by the school and statements made by police.

Both the school and police say the student did not specify in the chat conversation what he meant by "getting even."

"There were some statements made that we construed to be threats," County Attorney Bobby Busselman said.

The student’s home computer was confiscated after he was questioned and detained April 27. His parents were not available for comment as of press time Tuesday.

An official statement released by the school indicated the chat conversation initially reached police eyes because one of the chatting students’ parents became concerned and notified police.

The same statement said there were additional details about the case that could not be disclosed due to the confidentiality federal law provides to student information.

"We do feel, however, that at no time any immediate safety issues existed for any of our students," the school statement read. "The situation has been carefully monitored and the district has taken steps to assure everyone’s safety."

The school has not yet determined whether the arrested student will be permitted to return to class if or when he is released from custody.

Karnes City Junior High School Principal Jeanette Winn said a hearing would be held to determine if the student would be allowed back and whether he would have to attend school at an alternative campus.

The police, the school, and the county attorney all say there are additional factors surrounding the student’s arrest that cannot at this time be disclosed.

Busselman also said the police have to be extra careful and take matters more seriously now after the April shooting at Virginia Tech where one student killed 32 people and himself during one of the most violent school shootings in recent history.

Busselman said the concern is over copycats — that a student with violent tendencies may see the events that happened at Virginia Tech and use them to develop revenge plans of his own.