Minneapolis elementary school threat leads to man's arrest in Missouri

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man has been arrested in Missouri after police say he made a threatening phone call toward a Minneapolis school.

Parents were notified Thursday that Waite Park Elementary in Minneapolis was placed on lockdown because of a threat made against students and staff. 

Minneapolis school threat arrest 

Big picture view:

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the school got a phone call just before 11 a.m. on Thursday from a man who said he planned to "shoot anything that moves" with an AR-15 rifle. 

Officers responded by securing a perimeter at the school. 

Investigators then identified a possible suspect who lived about two miles away and had ties to two people at the school. 

After police identified a vehicle he owned, they used a license plate reader to determine he was not in Minnesota. 

ATF agents and police outside the state then worked to arrest the man in Missouri. He was booked into the Jackson County Jail and faces possible charges of terroristic threats. 

What they're saying:

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the following after the school threat:

"It's all the more scary especially just on the heals of the shooting over at Annunciation. The message to families is, you're kids are safe and our city is here for you.  Our job, police officers' job, is to keep people safe during these difficult circumstances that, yes, are in fact terrifying, and in this case, they did exactly that."

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara shared the following statement:

"We take every threat seriously and I want to be clear, if you make these threats against a school, against a house of worship in our city, we will act swiftly, and we will employ every tool available to find you, arrest you and bring you to justice as quickly as possible. And that's exactly what happened today."