LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- St. Matthews Police say they are looking for a Twitter user with the handle "PROUD CLARION" who made threats against Trinity High School Wednesday, prompting administrators to cancel Thursday's classes.
In a news conference Thursday morning, St. Matthews Assistant Police Chief Maj. Tony Cobaugh told reporters that Louisville Metro Police contacted them Wednesday evening about messages on Twitter that threatened to burn down the school.
According to a release on the school's website, the threat was made "due to Jeff Brohm deciding to remain at Purdue." Brohm was a star quarterback at Trinity before playing at the University of Louisville and in the NFL.
Cobaugh said the posts contained the words "gas can" and "matches."
One tweet read: "If Jeff Brohm doesn't come, we burn down Trinity."
Another tweet said: "*me, out front of Trinity, holding a match and addressing Jeff Brohm directly*"
Screen shots were taken before the tweets were deleted. The picture on the account is an image of former U of L football coach Howard Schnellenberger.
"In today’s world, the St. Matthews Police Department has no choice but to take threats like this seriously, especially when it involves a school in our own community,” Cobaugh said.
Trinity administrators were immediately contacted and made the decision to cancel classes on Thursday. St. Matthews Police called for assistance from the FBI and Louisville Metro Police to investigate, and police have been patrolling the property since the threat was made.
FBI special agent Christie Curtis joined Cobaugh for the news conference. It's unclear if investigators are obtaining the user's screen name and information directly from Twitter, and declined to identify the investigative techniques being used to track down the person responsible for the threats.
Curtis said the FBI is working closely with LMPD and St. Matthews Police.
Cobaugh said "no one at this point has any idea who this person is, where they are, what's their station in life, what's their walk in life right now," but said the person will be charged with terroristic threatening, a Class D felony.
Cobaugh said Detective Mark Richardson is leading the investigation, and closed the news conference by encouraging the person who made the threat to come forward:
“I think this is an excellent point to reach out to whoever you are, ‘PROUD CLARION.’ This is your opportunity to step up, step forward, take ownership. Call 893-9000 and ask for Detective Mark Richardson. This is your one opportunity to get on the bus right now on the front end and get a good seat. And you can be rest assured that you will be treated fairly and with respect, but this is our open invitation to you, whoever you are, to step forward sooner rather than later.”
This story will be updated.
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