Grand jury backs charge against ex-Dunbar student over threats to shoot up school

A former Paul Laurence Dunbar High School student accused of making threats to shoot up the school was indicted by a Fayette County grand jury on Monday.

In March, an anonymous tip to a school safety tipline took police to the door of 18-year-old Timothy Felker, who had been a student previous to the investigation, and he was charged with a felony. Police took a rifle and about 500 rounds of ammunition from his home, according to court documents.

On Monday, Felker was indicted on a charge of second-degree terroristic threatening, which is punishable by between one and five years in prison. Felker posted a $5,000 bond, according to court documents.

He has already pleaded not guilty to initial charges. He is due back in court May 18. Felker's attorney Tucker Richardson declined to comment on Tuesday.

The indictment said that between October 2017 and February 2018, Felker unlawfully threatened to commit an act likely to result in death or serious physical injury to students, teachers, volunteers and other people on Dunbar's campus.

Felker is one of several dozen students and other people in the state who have been charged with making school related threats this year in the aftermath of school shootings in Western Kentucky and in Parkland, Florida. Details of the juvenile cases have not been made public. But those over 17 who have been criminally charged are facing stiff penalties.

The online tip in Felker's case was made to the STOP, or Safety Tipline Online Prevention, tipline on Friday Feb. 16, officials said in March. The tipster said Felker “owns a gun and constantly talks about killing himself/ shooting up the school. He tells specific people he would shoot them first and then shoot up the classroom,” according to court documents.

When police went to Felker’s home on Feb. 17 they learned he was out of town. Investigators interviewed his mother, who told them Felker had made previous threats about “shooting up the school, but it was before he purchased the rifle,” according to court documents.

Felker’s mother agreed to give police the rifle and ammunition, according to court documents.

Felker had flown out of town that weekend and was detained at Blue Grass Airport when he returned on Monday, Feb. 19, according to a March news release.

During that airport interview with police, Felker told police that he had been suicidal in the past but he was on his medication.

"He stated that around Christmas or December 2017 is when he purchased the AR-15 with the money that his mom gave him for a tattoo," Lexington police detective Sean Stafford testified during a March 26 court hearing.

Of the 12 to 15 students interviewed by police, three said they had heard Felker make threats over several years, Stafford testified.

Lexington police were assisted by the FBI, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and school law enforcement in the investigation leading up to Felker’s March arrest.

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Grand jury backs charge against ex-Dunbar student over threats to shoot up school."