Kristen Michelle Thompson, Hillsborough, North Carolina, Pathways Elementary School resigns after threatening to ‘shoot up’ school.
A North Carolina elementary school teacher is alleged to have threatened to ‘shoot up’ her school — along with plotting a secret message to warn colleagues before she was to open fire, authorities said.
Kristen Michelle Thompson, 38, of Durham, abruptly resigned from her position at Pathways Elementary School on Friday after teachers reported the educator made ‘threats to shoot up’ the building in Hillsborough, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
An arrest warrant obtained by WRAL shows that Thompson told three fellow teachers that she would give them a signal in advance before carrying out the shooting, promising to tell them ‘the squash is ripe’ before executing the attack.
The squash is ripe? But there’s more….
Another educator at the school also reported Thompson saying that any day she did not start shooting at the school was a ‘good day,’ according to the arrest warrant.
Thompson, of Durham, was charged Tuesday with communicating a threat of mass violence. A judge set her bond at $1,000 and ordered her to return to court on June 14.
‘A threat of school violence is understandably unsettling for the community,’ Sheriff Charles Blackwood said in a statement. ‘Please know that the school and law enforcement are working together as a team to ensure the last few weeks of the school year are safe and productive for our students.’
A school district spokesman told the News & Observer that authorities were contacted immediately once administrators learned of Thompson’s alleged threat.
Attempts to reach Thompson Wednesday for media comment were unsuccessful and it’s unclear if she’s hired an attorney. It remained unclear why the educator may have sought to ‘shoot up’ the school and in what manner she may envisaged the blood-letting….
