Pawhuska Police: Man Arrested For Threatening To 'Shoot Up' School

Pawhuska Police said a man is in custody after he threatened the school district and his place of work. Justin Boone, 20, admitted to making the threats, according to Police Chief Nick Silva.

Silva said the threats were specific, and Boone was identified as the suspect by multiple witnesses.

"Mr. Boone was arrested and remains in custody on the charge of Threatening Violent Acts," the chief said.

Pawhuska Public Schools said that they had been notified of the threats Thursday morning, August 22, according to a Facebook post.

"We have been made aware this morning of threats that were made towards Pawhuska Public Schools yesterday afternoon. Due to the swift action of our police department, the suspect was immediately detained. None of our staff or students were in immediate danger. We want to thank the Pawhuska Police Department for their quick response to this issue," the district posted.

Chief Silva said the man, who is scheduled to go before a judge at 3 p.m., threatened to shoot up the school and burn down his place of employment.

The chief praised witnesses for reporting the threats in a statement:

"As we have made clear to the community the safety of our schools is a priority. There are no exceptions nor excuses for such threats or acts. The swift action of the Pawhuska Police Department and determination to assure the threat was removed is clear in this incident. Without the courage of the witnesses to speak up this matter may have gone undetected until too late."

This is a developing story - check back for updates.