PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- Three high school students and a 19-year-old man are facing serious charges in Kitsap County.
Police said they threatened and intimidated witnesses in a case against a former Kingston High School student who allegedly threatened to "shoot up" the school.
Prosecutors said the former student, 18-year-old Matthew Smiley, planned the shooting for Sept. 11.
Some of Smiley’s former classmates are also alleged to have intimidated witnesses in his case, threatening to hunt down and hurt anyone who cooperated with the investigation.
Former student Lucas Thompson said students on campus are reeling from the allegations.
“Freaks me out,” said Thompson, “This is close to home.”
Smiley appeared Monday in Kitsap County District Court, where a judge set bail at $2 million.
Prosecutors said he was expelled for selling marijuana at school.
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Kingston High School threats
Q13 FOX News
Investigators also claim Smiley not only planned to kill his former classmates, but that he also told several kids about his intentions.
“Mr. Smiley told them that on 9/11 he was going to shoot up the high school,” prosecutor Benjamin Turner said. “The witness indicated to detectives that he was afraid to come forward because the defendant told them he would kill him and his girlfriend if he told anyone.”
Smiley’s parents were also in court on Monday.
“My husband and I are shocked by these allegations,” Smiley’s mother said in open court. “We want the court to know he’s been raised in a home with loving parents.”
Just two days after Smiley’s court appearance, three students were arrested on Kingston High School’s campus. They are all juveniles, aged from 16 to 17, and on Wednesday they pleaded not guilty to the charges. The students are on house arrest.
Sebastian Carroll, a 19-year-old sex offender, is also accused of intimidating a witness. He was not arrested on the high school campus.
Authorities claim that Carroll planned to hunt down and hurt anyone who would cooperate with the county’s case against Smiley. Carroll is being held in jail on $250,000 bail.
Police said Carroll and the three teenagers threatened students using text messages and on Facebook.
Lucas believes their tactics could have been the suspects’ downfall.
“That’s really dumb, Really, really, really dumb,” said Lucas. “That will affect them their whole life.”
Prosecutors said that Smiley had both the motive and the means to carry out his plan because was in possession of a firearm.