School shooting fears provoked Monday’s lockdown at Albert Lea schools

Law enforcement is now saying what spurred the lockdown at four Albert Lea schools was the threat of a school shooting.

The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office says it got a tip from the FBI on Friday of a brief Discord conversation in which one individual expressed interest in committing a school shooting and livestreaming it. An investigation found that one person in the conversation was local while the other was in another country.

Sheriff’s investigators say they identified the local individual on Monday morning and, with help from the Albert Lea Police Department and District 241 staff, safely intercepted the juvenile on a school bus before classes began. A search was later executed at the juvenile’s home and deputies say all firearms were removed.

The Sheriff’s Office says a Snapchat message began circulating Monday afternoon suggesting that relatives of the juvenile were involved in the threat. Detectives say they quickly confirmed there was no evidence to support such a claim and the source of the rumor was identified.

Read more: KIMT