“Columbine Style” Attack Averted at Royal Valley High School

by Gary E. Mitchell

The unsettling news of a planned Columbine-style assault on Royal Valley, USD 337, Hoyt, Kansas, has brought a mixture of responses from the surrounding community—one that includes the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. First I will provide a recap of the events, with excerpts from the Topeka Capital Journal and Holton Recorder, which brought national attention to a small community in Northeast Kansas.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department arrested three individuals on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to criminally use explosives. One juvenile was also charged with aggravated intimidation of a witness. These charges were later amended to conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, and one youth immediately posted a $10,000 bond.

Evidently these three students have circulated pictures of the arsenal they had accumulated, and another student informed the school hotline of this alleged plan.

On the following day, Friday, February 2, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department carried out search warrants on two of the students’ homes.

Seized items included a modified assault rifle, a hand-drawn floor plan of the high school including “strategic locations,” recipes and deployment instructions for explosive materials, trench coats, and some white supremacist paraphernalia such as Confederate flags and “anarchist” publications.

According to Chief Detective Steve Rupert of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the students had planned to "kill everybody in the school…like Columbine, and planned their attack to possibly coincide with a major school event, such as a dance." In a newscast on Monday, February 5, the sheriff’s department said despite all the white supremacist material, the plot "was not racially motivated." These comments sent the wrong message to parents of over 180 Indian children who attend the school system.

Over 75 concerned parents and community members of the Potawatomi reservation were in attendance at the Old Community Building. Members of the tribal police, fire department, the USD 337 superintendent and one school board member were also present. The people expressed fear and a real concern for the safety of all the children at the school. “Our children and grandchildren go this school,” said one tribal member. “If there are white supremacists and they’re going to shoot somebody, they’re not going to shoot white kids. The only ones left out there are Indian kids and that really concerns me.” Marceta Reilly, school superintendent, who attended the meeting said later, “They were scared and angry. There was a lot of venting. When it is characterized as “Columbine-style,” you get a real visceral, emotional response.”

Another tribal member told Mrs. Reilly, “We have respect for you, Marceta; we aren’t attacking you, we appreciate your concern, and we just want our children to be safe.”

Other questions were about how many were involved and who supplied the guns to the children and how the Potawatomi community is right in the middle of this but weren’t given the courtesy of being told about this serious situation. However, Reilly summarized how the district has taken measures to prevent another incident similar to the 1999 attack at Littleton, Colorado. Reilly said parents in previous community conversations had said, “We don’t want our schools to be armed camps. We’re a little school.” Instead of armed police and metal detectors, present security measures included limiting access to buildings, setting up a hotline for school violence tips, hiring a school resource officer and updating the crisis plan.

After the Monday night meeting, Reilly asked the Kansas Highway Patrol to search the high school using bomb-sniffing dogs. In addition, the school increased its dress code requirements. Reilly said students wearing long trench coats or clothing with racially motivated writing or symbols will face disciplinary action.

“I heard what (the parents) said, and I took some specific steps to address concerns that they had,” said Reilly. “We did a bomb search so I can look people in the eye and tell them with certainty that there are no bombs or bomb-making materials in the building. We found nothing.”

An editorial of the Topeka Capital Journal on February 11, stated: “Supporters of the three suspects insist it wasn’t real and that the incident is being blown out of proportion. Oh? How is that possible? How is it possible to overreact to talk of planning an assault on a school? Law enforcement officers and the public have an obligation to take such threats seriously. The only area in which this case has been mishandled was the delay between the arrest of the suspects on February 2 and notification of school officials and parents in the district, which didn’t occur until Monday. Both school officials and parents had a right to know what was going on as soon as the arrests were made. Only then could they make reasonable judgments about whether school should take place and whether students would be allowed to attend. As for whether to send students to school on Monday, that’s a decision for each parent to make—but they, too, were denied the information necessary to make an informed judgment. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office had made the decision for them and that isn’t right.”

Questions in the Potawatomi community center on why the Tribal Police weren’t notified since two of the youth lived in the middle of the reservation and why there weren’t any federal charges and Federal Bureau of Investigation involvement. Solutions are out there, as indicated by a tribal member’s letter to the editor: “The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has worked over the past few years to come to an agreement with Jackson County to promote cross-deputization. This agreement would allow officers from both groups to work together in times of need and in secure times. Now is the time to get past the political roadblocks and think of the good of all of the community. The Prairie Band Nation and Jackson County need to let the leadership of the county and state know we need cross-deputization to assure that our reservation and county will remain safe for our children. This is what is most important—that every child and member of this community remain safe.”

The cross-deputization agreement would promote more cooperation between the tribal and county police, but talks have stalled despite intervention on the part of the Office of the United States Attorney in Wichita, Kansas. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 74 winds through the Kansas Legislature. If passed, this bill would allow a tribal police officer who is requested to assist a state, county or city law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer of such an agency, to be considered to be a law enforcement officer of that body and to have the same powers, duties and immunities of that body during the time they are providing assistance. SB 74 is a better arrangement, for the tribe, only from the standpoint that it can be implemented without an agreement, and it applies to any law enforcement agency and not just the sheriff. In addition, SB 74 codifies an existing informal practice of area law enforcement, who infrequently request assistance from tribal police.

Quite simply, pooling resources makes sense, especially in light of this recent crisis. But until that day comes to the reservation, the tribal government has instructed the tribal police to step up their presence on the reservation, especially along bus routes.

The tribal chairman summed it up best: “Let’s not just protect our Indian children, let’s protect all our children.”

[Postscript: Eventually two of the accused students were found not guilty, and one pleaded guilty and was given a light jail sentence and was eventually paroled.]