A 19-year-old man has been arrested after Owensboro Police say he made threats to commit a shooting at Kentucky Wesleyan College and possessed multiple firearms and ammunition.
According to a release from OPD, officers first responded on October 14 to a disturbance in the 200 block of East 23rd Street, where they found Josiah James with multiple self-inflicted cuts requiring medical treatment. Authorities said that during transport to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, James made statements expressing a “desire to commit a shooting at Kentucky Wesleyan.”
Officers notified KWC officials of the threat and confirmed with hospital staff that James would be held in a secure setting, the release says. Police said there is no evidence that James is or has ever been a student at Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division later executed a search warrant at James’s residence. According to OPD, investigators located “multiple firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition in a backpack.” The release says they “which led to the discovery of hundreds of internet searches on school shootings.
On October 17, officers arrested James upon his release from OHRH, the release says.
James was charged with second-degree terroristic threatening and is lodged at the Daviess County Detention Center.
Kentucky Wesleyan College President Dr. James Cousins said KWC “is grateful to the Owensboro Police for their excellent work and vigilance in ensuring the safety of our campus and community. There was never an active threat to our campus. However, we have taken proactive steps to ensure the ongoing safety and well-being of our campus. This includes close coordination with Owensboro Police.”
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact OPD at 270-687-8888 or leave an anonymous tip with Owensboro Crime Stoppers at 270-687-8484.
