Police File Charge In Technical College Gun Threat

College Closed Wednesday Due To Threat

Updated: 8:25 am CDT May 9, 2008

A day after school officials at Southwest Technical College in Fennimore closed its campus due to a gun threat, Fennimore police said they have filed a charge against a man in connection with the incident.

Fennimore police said they obtained a criminal complaint charging Jeremy L. Heins, 24, of Platteville, with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in connection with the threat but that he is not in police custody.

A student passed on information Wednesday morning that she received a call on a cell phone that someone was bringing a gun to campus. School officials then contacted Fennimore police and opted to close the campus, including night classes, citing safety concerns.

According to the criminal complaint, Heins was previously a student at Southwest Technical College and is not currently enrolled there.

Police said they have determined that there is no further threat to the college's students or staff.

According to the criminal complaint, Heins said he left the phone message as a joke after he was drinking. The complaint said Heins said he had no intentions of taking a gun to the college or harming anyone.

At a meeting Thursday, Southwest Technical College students and staff heard about changes to the emergency response plan.

On Wednesday, at the advice of Fennimore police, everyone on campus was evacuated under the guise of a maintenance problem but they were not told about the actual threat.

Southwest Technical College President Karen Knox told WISC-TV that emergency communication will change in the future to convey the appropriate urgency.

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