18-year-old arrested in Hastings after calling in threat at school, the patrol says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – An 18-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after calling in a threat at a school near Hastings, the Nebraska State Patrol says.

Around 8:40 a.m., Sandy Creek High School in Fairfield got a report that a student was threatened by someone off-campus.

The school had also received a call saying that one of the students had a gun in a locker, according to the patrol.

In accordance with school procedure, the campus was put into lockdown, and sporting events were postponed.

Several authorities were sent to the school and searched the locker but did not find a gun, the patrol says.

Within minutes, authorities identified a possible source of the threats.

Troopers then found the source, an 18-year-old man, at a home in Hastings, according to the patrol.

The patrol says the man, who is not a student at the school, spat in a trooper’s face while being taken into custody.

He was then arrested on suspicion of terroristic threats, false reporting, assault on an officer, resisting arrest and failure to obey a lawful order.

An investigation is ongoing.

The school’s lockdown was later lifted, and students were dismissed for the day, the patrol says.