Panic flooded an Iowa school where notes glorifying violence kept cropping up.
However, Council Bluffs police found out in the end that the culprit was not a student, but teacher Katrina Phelan, 37.
Phelan turned herself in on Wednesday after being charged with three counts of threats of terrorism, a class D felony, according to KMA-FM.
“Friday morning. Suns out, guns out. Bang, Bang. They Dead. All of Them. Tired of the Drama,” one note read, according to KETV-TV.
Another note read, “After School. Buses. Guns. God Bless America. They are all going to die.”
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Police said the four notes found at Abraham Lincoln High School all talked about gun violence taking place at the school.
The notes were either found by students in Phelan’s classroom or by Phelan herself, according to KETV-TV.
Phelan told police that the notes were written “out of concern, worry, and frustration over the lack of control of her classroom,” the station reported.
Katrina Phelan, 37, turned herself in on three felony counts of threats of terrorism for the handwritten notes found inside the school. https://t.co/EKcKTDEtrP
— KCCI News (@KCCINews) December 2, 2021
Her goal, according to the KETV report, was to highlight that the school was “not a safe place.”
Police said that despite the threatening tone of the notes, Phelan had no plan to commit violence nor did she have the means to carry out violence.
One note indicated that it was written by a student who was tired of being made fun of by other students.
Although police said Phelan admitted to writing three of the notes and that they were on paper from her classroom, she said she could not recall writing them, KETV reported.
Some parents said the issue is now closed.
“I feel very reassured that they’re doing the right things and it’s swift and taken care of and things are being done appropriately,” parent Kelli Blair told KETV.
The school sent parents an email letting them know about the results of the investigation.
“The Council Bluffs Police Department has concluded its investigation into the threatening notes found at school a few weeks ago. They have determined the source of the notes to be a school employee. Investigators concluded there was no intent or means to carry out the threats,” the school wrote, according to KCCI-TV in Des Moines.
“However, the employee has been charged with a crime, has voluntarily surrendered to the police, and will no longer be employed by the Council Bluffs Schools. We appreciate the detectives and their diligence in solving this crime.
“During that investigation, students provided us with information that was helpful. This is what we expect from students at ALHS.”
Phelan was released from the Pottawattamie County Jail after posting bond, KMA reported.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
