I never heard a thing from my kid about this until I asked after hearing about it from someone from Madison. Allbeit, I do not watch a lot of news, but I appreciate that a school is looking out for my kid's best interest.

It does seem extreme to arrest on a "rumor" but too many schools have been under attack that we must not make light of these kinds of threats. Why was the boy not in school and unaccounted for? I call if my kids are going to be gone, why didn't his parents call the school?

I feel bad for him..he did NOTHING wrong. This whole thing wouldnt have happened in the first place if dumb milton students werent doing what they do best..harassing people. The person saying he needs to be thrown into jail and all that has got to be one of the most immature people i have ever heard of. GROW UP! Also, the teachers did not inform anyone on what was going on becuz their emails said not to tell the students..it was not handled that well. I have no hope for most of the people in this town to ever grow up(yes, including some adults)
Good Luck Man. I hope everything works out for you.

Granted! the response from Milton high school and police officials was probably handled well and as expected. But, on another note, for those of you saying "lock the boy up, treat him as an adult.' First of all he is not an adult. He is a high school student and he is someone's child. Everyone knows about "rumors" and the affects they can have on one's emotional wellbeing. The law states that one is assumed innocent until proven guilty, Let the law make the decision based on FACTS of the case..not on public opinions. Maybe.. we should stop and think that this kid might just need someone to talk to about his personal issues at home and at school... AND MORE IMPORTANTLY...SOMEONE TO LISTEN. It's situations like this that keeps these tragedies occuring.

call1- he really said those things and that's why he was arrested. I believe the people who turned him in did the right thing.

you people are something else. "Put the kid in jail where he belongs.." What ever happened to common sense, & finding out if the kid really said the things he's being accused of saying. I guess now a days we can call the police, & report that any one of you threatened to kill someone, & just because we say its true(& of course had a few friends back us up). Yeah.. lets give children criminal records for doing what kids do (Lie)

re: ginsberg68 what do you mean "wild gun toting kid".. No guns were found anywhere. In fact, I don't think any weapons were found.
RealPuma - What DID happen here? You can't expect the public to have no reaction with the information they have. The legal system does indeed view you as innocent until proven guilty but the court of public opinion has 2 articles in the paper and a lot of student rumors on which to base their verdit.

real puma: lets hear from you what really happened, why did you go home? I do believe you have the right as the accused to confront the accusers, rumors spread like wildfire, and if these reports came from "he said she said" I dont see how else you could clear your name. anyone who is doing the "reporting" should be willing to face the reported.

Another point, when something like this happens, why should the kids in classrooms be kept in the dark about what is going on. I think a good way to keep the panic down is with some information, mabe not all of what is suspected is necessary, but give them something.

this wild gun toting kid is obviously unprepared for what life will bring him.....
you can't shoot your problems.....they just get fixed in the hospital.....
the pain of a car accident is the only way he'll know when he is crying in his classroom wishing he could call his mom on his cell phone...... : P

ok im the 16 year old boy who made the "threats" what happens when they learn im innocent and that i didnt even say it what happens to the kid who "heard" me say it? my reputation is ruined and i have an expulsion hearing for words that didnt even come out of my mouth???? how is that fair its my word against his and guilty until proven innocent....? thought our system was innocent until PROVEN guilty??

First, there was no over reaction. If there are threats, real or perceived, the school and police have to do everything they can to protect the students as quickly as possible.

Most of the responses seem to be from young adults attending the high school. Please let me explain something to you. There is nothing more important in the entire world than a parent’s child. That’s right, there is nothing more important, in the entire world, than you are to your parent(s). And nothing ever will be.

So with that, we do not feel there is an overreaction if it protects our children.

And where was this friend of yours when they tried to talk to him, which may have averted this whole situation if it was untrue? In school where he belonged? No, he was at home, where he didn’t belong. Not following the rules like all the kids that were in a lockdown, that were scared because they didn’t know what was going on, which scared their parents because they were afraid for the safety of their children, the people they love the most.

It is great that you stand behind your friend, but also, be honest with yourself and blame him for this whole situation because he caused it by not following the rules. Tell him to get it together instead of thinking only of himself.

If in the future, you here any information about a possible threat, have the courage to take it to administration so they can go through the same procedures to secure the safety of everyone in the school. Do not follow the weak and not report because you think it might be an overreaction. Because there have been many cases in the past where people have thought that, and then regretted it because people were killed.

I agree the teachers and staff handled the lockdown appropriately,except for a couple of areas: teachers should not read the email to the class and expect them not to get scared and start text messaging parents - and then later be told the next day that the worst part of the entire situation was text messaging parents, and how the phone lines to the school were going crazy because of parents calling. Teachers-keep confidential email confidential and act accordingly to make your students feel calm. I agree a note of some explanation would have been nice for me as a parent, as I only had the "rumors" of what the students had started amongst themselves.

I can agree with both sides. Leave the kid alone? Well, maybe not leave him alone but, get him some help. Another, I don't know this student but, there has been shootings in high schools, They do have to take it seriously. No they don't need to use force on the 16 year old if he is at home and not hurting anyone. High schoolers are about as bad as middle schoolers, I swear! Somebody better get their facts straight if this kid seriously didn't make the threats or have a gun or what not. He's in a world of hurt now. AND WHY? BECAUSE KIDS LOVE RUMORS AND SPREADING THEM!

So this gets a story, but when four boys in the parking lot during lunch get in a fight, and the other points a real looking gun, which is actuly a bb gun at one of the other boys, 1. the school doesnt go on lockdown, and 2. no one hears about it...hmm...

You people need to back off and stop making assumptions. He is a verry good kid. As for all of you saying that he is getting picked on, no so true. I know him and am friends with him. Milton is just like every other high school in this nation, we all have our little clicks. The thing with milton being so small though is that everybody seems to get along with everybody. Yeah you will have those few people that dont like you, but for the most part milton is verry laid back. There is no proof that any of this is true, the only thing that the police and school have to go off of is the statements from the students who reported it. I would really like to know why the police are not looking into these students and asking if there may have been some planing going on here and if these kids werent just saying this to get this 16 year old in trouble. With a lack of physical proof this boy has a good case built against the cops for breaking in and beating him. Milton cops are a pretty nice group of people ( I know alot of them and get along really well with them) but I personally believe that with this case they have taken it over the edge. They dont really get too much action being in such a small community, and seen this as their big oppertunity and jumped right on it. All that I am asking is for people to have the least bit of reapect and look at the facts. There is no proof so why sit there and say that they should put him in the "big house"? In America isint is innocent untill proven guilty, not guilty untill proven innocent?

ok i am friends with the guy who is beign accused and he is a great guy and i know that he would never do that!
he is the greatest friend!
he is such a sweet guy and he wouldnt hurt anyone!
he told me personally that he did not have a hit list
a lot of kids say oh i just wish that person would die or i am gonna kill that kid
kids say that
rumors suck and i feel so bad for him.
the kid who turned him in needs to get his story straight and not blow it out of proportion!
u cant compare him to the guty from the v tech shooting cuz he didnt have anything he was just going to school!
like i said he is a really nice guy and he just needs to be left alone
he has so much stress on him!
i feel so bad for the 16 year old boy and i just give him sympathy and i pray for him that things will get better and he can come back!
i love u best friend!
im gonna miss ya!

How can they say that there was no hit list? If he specifically stated kids and staffs names, isn't that basically a "hit list"? It may not be written down on paper, but to me, that would be a targeted group.

Dan Hartung--if Seung-hui Cho would have had this happen when he was in high school, we would have had a massacre at his high school instead of at Virginia Tech.

Kudos to Milton High School staff and students! It is always good to see a positive outcome to what could have been another tragedy.

Actually, if Seung-hui Cho had had an incident like this in high school, he might have gotten the help he needed. Let's hope the gun was indeed fictional.
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Since statistics show many more threats of violence than actual incidents, it's pretty clear the one does not always lead to the other. I wish the family good luck in dealing with this issue.

Better safe than sorry. At least some learned something from the recent tragedies across the country that probably could've been prevented. I would rather see a reaction like this every time than to have to hear about another school shooting.

i agree concern. slap on the wrist while theyre in high school and maybe they become virginia tech......

I am very happy that the kids are safe. It sounds as though everything was handled well during the situation. However, why was a note not sent home with the students explaining the situation to the parents. Too many questions that could have easily been explained, were not.

In addition, I don't want to hear explanations of how good this kid was and everything hasn't went his way and he's a good kid, he wouldn't carry out the threats, etc. Punish him as an adult and put him in jail where he belongs. It is time to protect the well behaving students and their families and quit making excuses for others, period.

My child is a student at Milton High School and I would like to commend the staff, students and emergency personal that responded to the situation. This could have been a tragedy but the cool, calm way this was handled by everyone shows that lock down drills pay off. After an email was sent to all the teachers about the situation they calmly instructed the students what they needed to do and they did it. The police force did a methodical sweep of the building insuring there was no threat to the students and staff. When the student making the threat was found at home the classes resumed as if nothing happened.

I am very pleased that the Milton School District has taken the time to train students and staff how to handle a situation like this. As a parent I can breath a little easier knowing every precaution has been taken to insure the safety and well being of the students at MHS!