Man threatens to shoot up Louisa County school and church

LOUISA COUNTY — Schools across Louisa County were briefly placed under lockdown Friday morning, Sept. 26, after authorities received a threat to “shoot up a school and church.” Officials later confirmed the threat came from an out-of-state man with local ties and said there was never an active danger to area schools.

The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office ordered all county schools to enter a “soft” lockdown Friday morning after receiving notice of the threat from Wells Fargo Bank. Deputies were stationed at each school while law enforcement worked to identify and locate the individual.

Just before 12:30 p.m., Sheriff Brad Marquardt announced that the lockdowns had been lifted and there was “no local threat to any of our schools.”

He said the threat was made by “an out of state individual with local ties,” adding that the investigation was being handled jointly with other state law enforcement agencies.

According to court documents filed Sept. 29, the suspect has been identified as Jose Piedra. Authorities say Piedra called a Wells Fargo call center complaining that his banking app was not working. When the situation escalated, Piedra allegedly told the operator if he doesn’t get help with this he is going to shoot up a school and church. The call operator asked Piedra if he was being threatened or if he was threatening that.

“I am the threat, if this doesn’t get fixed I am going to start shooting people,” Piedra said according to court documents.

The Wells Fargo law enforcement center provided an address in Columbus Junction as the one they had on file for Piedra. When law enforcement did not find him at that address, they pinged his phone and located him near the North Carolina-South Carolina border.

Deputies in Lincolnton, North Carolina, found him picking up a load for work. Piedra told officers he had a handgun in the glove box of his truck, but since the threat was not made in that jurisdiction, North Carolina authorities did not detain him.

Because Piedra still has a residence in Grandview and had previously reported owning a handgun there, the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office sought a search warrant for that home.

The warrant requested permission to search the residence and seize all firearms, ammunition, accessories, and electronic devices that could relate to the threat. Deputies justified the warrant by citing Piedra’s threat, his past firearm possession, the sighting of hunting items through a window, and statements from family members confirming he lived there.

Magistrate Judge Lois Vroom signed an involuntary mental health committal order for Piedra on Sept. 26, the same day as the threat. Authorities planned to serve that order when Piedra arrived back in Iowa on Sept. 29 and returned his semitruck to his employer.

Sheriff Marquardt thanked local and state law enforcement for their response and reiterated that the quick lockdowns were precautionary.

“Again, there is absolutely no local threat,” he said.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com