Suspect arrested after threat prompts South St. Paul schools to move to online learning
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Public schools in South St. Paul moved to online learning on Wednesday, as police investigated what they called a “potential threat of violence.”
In an update just before noon, South St. Paul police said a suspect was in custody. The school district said classes would resume on Thursday.
“The collaboration among agencies involved in this investigation allowed for a safe resolution to the incident and helped ensure the safety of our students, staff, and community,” South St. Paul police said in a news release.
According to police:
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The department was notified early Wednesday morning that during a police call in St. Paul “an individual involved, who had fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival, had made a specific threat of violence against South St. Paul Public Schools.”
“Investigators with the South St. Paul Police Department began working immediately to locate the individual and assess the validity of the threat against our schools. Given the early morning hours, staff did not have sufficient time to confirm the credibility of the threat prior to the start of the school day,” the department said in its news release.
The school district decided to move to e-learning as a precautionary measure.
The suspect — a 29-year-old man from St. Paul — surrendered to authorities at the South St. Paul police station at about 10:30 a.m. He was transferred to St. Paul police and taken to the Ramsey County Jail.
The case remains under investigation.
The move to online learning in South St. Paul came a day after schools were closed due to threats reportedly made against another southern Twin Cities metro area district — the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, also known as District 196.
Officials there canceled classes on Tuesday after schools received threatening voicemail messages. Eagan police later said that they determined the calls came from out-of-state and were not credible threats. Classes in the district resumed on Wednesday.
