Mayor Critical of Sheriff’s Response to Perceived Threat

VADNAIS HEIGHTS (AP) -- The mayor of Vadnais Heights is among those critical of how the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office handled comments by a 13-year-old boy with autism that authorities said amounted to a school threat.

Mayor Bob Fletcher says the City Council thought there was a terrorist cell in the city ``based on the hype created by the sheriff's department.'' Sheriff's officials, based on a call from a concerned parent, got a warrant to search the boy's home Friday and seized numerous guns and ammunition.

The boy's parents were arrested on possible misdemeanor charges of negligently storing a firearm. Sheriff Jack Serier said a ``potential tragedy was averted.''

The boy's grandfather, Mark Stowe, says his grandson said he would ``shoot up'' the school when he was talking with classmate, but had no intention of carrying it out.