(NEWS10) – Police in Vermont are crediting a New York State teen and a high school resource officer for thwarting a possible school shooting.
The alleged threat first came to light 160 miles away from the school in Vermont. It was here in Dutchess County, New York where a concerned high school student showed a disturbing text message to her school’s resource officer.
The student told the officer she had messages on her phone from an acquaintance plotting a mass shooting at a school in Vermont.
This was just days after the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida and after news that law enforcement failed to act on tips about the accused shooter.
Back in Dutchess County the school resource officer took action and contacted law enforcement in Vermont regarding an 18-year-old named Jack Sawyer, a former student of Fair Haven Union High School.
Investigators claim he “communicated his desire to cause mass causalities” at his former school and that told them he had been planning the attack for two years.
Police say the Poultney teen had also recently purchased a shotgun and shells at a Dicks Sporting Goods in Rutland.
Officials in Vermont now crediting the young acquaintance of Sawyer’s as well as her school resource officer for saving lives.
“As this case demonstrates, I would urge the public to trust your gut and make that call to law enforcement.”
Sawyer faces several charges including attempted murder.