Shooting threat at PHS, School tries to return to normal

April 22, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - When a Palmer High School student allegedly made threats to bring a gun to school Wednesday to shoot fellow students, the small town of Palmer was shocked.

No one interviewed this week can recall a school-shooting threat of this magnitude ever happening in the Mat-Su - not the chief of police, not school officials, parents or former students. The disbelief was heard in coffeeshops, banks and businesses around town as word of the threat spread through a matrix of e-mails, phone calls and endless conversations.

Police arrested a teen identified by fellow students and concerned parents as 17-year-old Shay Hall at his home Tuesday night after receiving an anonymous phone call late Monday night, warning them of a student's alleged plans to shoot people at school.

As of Thursday, the person arrested was lodged at Mat-Su Youth Facility in Palmer on charges juvenile probation authorities said they could not disclose. Police initially referred a felony charge, third-degree assault, against the suspect, as well as a charge of making terroristic threats. The crime with which the person was subsequently charged, however, is not a felony against a person and therefore is not a legally disclosable offense.

"Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened here," said Wolfgang Winter, principal of Palmer High School.

Veteran Palmer police officer Sgt. Thomas Remaley agreed, saying he's never before experienced anything like the school shooting threat in Palmer.

"Not like this," he said. "Not that I can ever recall, and I've been here 12 years."

On Wednesday morning, as students, parents and buses pulled into the Palmer High School parking lot, police and Alaska State Troopers were stationed at various points in and around school to provide beefed-up security.

Parents and students held countless conversations with the officers as they weighed whether to attend school or steer clear until the situation settled down.

"I always err on the side of caution," said Mike Spencer, who, after speaking with troopers, decided to keep his daughter out of school. Spencer wasn't alone as more than 200 students played it safe and stayed home.

"My son's not going to school and he won't go back until I'm assured that he is safe," said parent Brandi Behlke. "One of my son's friends was pointed to and told that he was on the hit list. It's scary that you have to worry about this."

Other parents and students decided going back to school was the best approach. Principal Wolfgang Winter stood outside Palmer High assuring people that the school was going to operate as normally as possible. Just by looking at the parking lot, though, Winter recognized that many people weren't showing up.

"That's OK," he said, "because if those kids were here they would be on edge and they wouldn't be effective in school."

Winter addressed kids who did attend school over the school intercom.

"Thanks for being here," he said. "I know some of you are concerned and that's why police are here, to provide more safety for you. We're going to try to have as normal a day as possible."

The day was far from normal, but police reported no safety threats and Winter said his teachers had some of the best classroom discussions of the whole year, despite the low attendance.

Some parents said they would have appreciated notice about the threat so they could decide whether to send their kids to school.

Winter said he didn't think the threat warranted calling hundreds of parents without first looking into the case.

"Calling parents is a district-level decision," Winter said. "Logistically it would be a nightmare and all it would be doing is creating panic."

District Assistant Superintendent Goerge Troxel agreed. "Until we get credible information that would substantiate claims, we continue investigations without airing it to the public."

The challenge now is figuring out how to get back to normal and finish the school year smoothly.

"We have three school counselors, and a school psychologist was on hand to talk to folks [Wednesday]," Winter said. "We are still talking to people and information is still coming to us, but from the information we have and from our investigation, we believe this portion is closed."

When asked if he thought the school could use some type of security checks at the front doors, Winter indicated that metal detectors or security guards would be a mixed blessing.

"I would welcome it but at the same time, I'd hate to see us go to that."

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266, or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.