Local officer thwarts school shooting in Michigan

WILLIAMSBURG — A 15-year-old girl in Michigan plotted to set fire to a school and shoot students last month, but her plans were thwarted by an Iowa County youth and a Williamsburg police officer.

Williamsburg Police Chief Jason Mochal praised Officer David Klaaren this month for his part in stopping a school shooting in Michigan.

“He was thinking on his toes,” Mochal told the Williamsburg City Council during its Oct. 13 meeting.

Having a 24/7 police department in a small town is important, Mochal said. If no one had been on duty, this threat might have been missed.

The tip was reported to dispatch by a woman at CommUnity Crisis Services in Iowa City, said Mochal during an interview Oct. 16. A minor from Williamsburg had been at the facility and said she’d been talking with a person online who referenced plans for a school shooting and posted a photo of a firearm.

Klaaren was dispatched about 5 p.m. Sept. 18 to investigate, said Mochal. He talked to the Williamsburg juvenile who gave him the name of the person she was talking to online.

The name on the account was fictitious, and it had changed three times, said Mochal.

The girl allowed Klaaren to take photos of the conversation on her phone. She thought the threat was in Michigan, Mochal said.

Klaaren called Mochal who referred him to the FBI Omaha office. The FBI contacted Cedar Rapids office and that office interviewed Klaarn and then contacted with the Detroit office.

They “tore apart” the social media account, said Mochal, and early the morning of Sept. 19, the FBI contacted police in Allegan, Michigan, who interviewed the minor with the social media account and concluded that her posts were “a very real threat” toward the Allegan school system.

“So this was a very quick process,” Mochal said. And it had to be. According to initial reports, the attacker wanted to act before Sept. 20. “So time was of the essence.

“I am extremely proud of David,” said Mochal. The only thing Mochal had to do was direct Klaaren to the right people. “We don’t have the resources to dig into social media,” he said.

This doesn’t happen every day in a small town, said Mochal, and Klaaren could have blown it off.

Klaaren’s path to WPD

Klaaren grew up in Ladora and attended HLV High School. He went to college and began working as a reserve officer with the Iowa County Sheriff’s department after an internship, he said.

Klaaren served as a reserve officer in Marengo and in Williamsburg and was a dispatcher and jailer in Poweshiek County before taking the oath of office with Williamsburg Police Department in July. He attended the police academy in January.

Being in law enforcement had been a goal for Klaaren since childhood, he said. He used to watch “America’s most Wanted” and “Cops” as a child. He saw police chases and police arresting criminals.

When Klaaren went to college, he realized that law enforcement was more than that. It’s about helping people and making communities better and safer, whether by enforcing traffic laws or being proactive to reduce certain behaviors.

“Law enforcement plays a vital role in keeping the community safe,” Klaaren said.

Klaaren couldn’t say what specifically made him think the Sept. 18 threat was credible. “You can tell in some instances that some people might be more serious,” he said.

Klaaren said he’s learned with training and experience not to take certain things lightly. This struck him as something serious in nature.

“I’m not a phone guy or technology guy,” said Klaaren, so he was limited as to what he could investigate in this case. You have to use your resources, said Klaaren. In this case, that meant contacting the FBI.

“This is the first time that I ever talked to the FBI,” said Klaaren, though he has worked with Division of Criminal Investigation.

“I’m just proud to be part of a big investigation that was a success,” Klaaren said.

In Michigan

According to a Sept. 26 report by WWMT News Channel 3 in Michigan, a 15-year-old Allegan girl was arraigned in court on multiple charges tied to a threat toward Allegan Public Schools.

Her name was withheld because she is a minor.

“M Live” in Grand Rapids, Michigan said the girl is charged with safe breaking, a potential life offense; false report or threat of terrorism, a potential 20-year felony, and two lesser counts involving the firearm.

According to probable cause documents, the Allegan Police Department received a tip from the FBI field office in Detroit about a threat toward Allegan Public Schools, WWMT said. The FBI provided an IP address and names of the girl’s parents.

Local officers interviewed the girl and her mother and showed them social media posts in which the girl said she planned to "get my mom's Glock firearm, a few cans of gasoline, and a f**k ton of fireworks …," court documents said.

The girl had removed a gun from a locked case in her parents' bedroom and was keeping it in a Sega character box in her room with two loaded magazines, according to media reports.

The WWMT story said that according to court documents girl planned to load her father's van with gasoline and fireworks and reverse it into the school's cafeteria.

She planned to douse the fireworks in gasoline, throw a lit match or lighter in the back, and put a cinder block on the gas pedal. Once the van crashed through the window, the girl hoped the van would explode, court documents allege.

After the van's explosion, the girl planned to shoot the officer in the lunchroom, and "just go trigger happy on anyone I see," according to court documents.

Another plan, the WWMT story said, included breaking windows on the classroom doors, pouring gas onto the carpet floors and setting it on fire. Victims would either suffocate to death or burn, according to court records.

The Michigan girl was a former student at Allegan High School and was enrolled online, said “M Live.” She planned to carry out her plan around her birthday, Sept. 20.