Teen arrested for gun threat

A 17-year-old Brainerd teen was arrested Wednesday after threatening to take a gun to Brainerd High School and kill students.

The threats were not made on school grounds. The teen, who is not a Brainerd High School student, is excluded from high school because of threats the boy made last fall.

The threats were made earlier this week in downtown Brainerd, Sgt. Becky Putzke said. A student overheard the suspect making the threats and informed school officials and the Brainerd Police Department Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested late morning Wednesday after an interview at the Law Enforcement Center, Brainerd police said. He was not armed at the time of his arrest and he was arrested without incident.

Though the recent comments were not made on school property, Putzke said the police department took the threats very seriously because of the suspect's previous firearm conviction.

The suspect was convicted for an incident Oct. 9, 2000, in which he was arrested for possessing a firearm on school property. He currently is on probation for that offense.

In the October 2000 incident, a gun was taken from the suspect without incident and no one was hurt.

The police department had high praise for the actions of the reporting student in helping to avert a possible serious incident.

The suspect is being held in Central Minnesota Juvenile Center pending formal criminal charges.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department and the Baxter Police Department assisted the Brainerd Police Department.

In the October 2000 incident, the student was also expelled from the Brainerd High School.