School Threats Investigation Averts Indiana School Shooting
Posted on 02/14/2025
Date: February 14, 2025
Case: School Threats Investigation Averts Indiana School Shooting
Authority: Lieutenant of Detectives Tim Kemps
On Monday evening, February 10, 2025 the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a tip from the Wisconsin Department of Justice about threats to commit a school shooting on Valentine's Day as well as killing the suspect’s best friend. The tip did not name a particular school. The tip identified a 19-year-old woman from the Town of Addison as the suspect. The 911 dispatcher recognized the seriousness of the threat and immediately contacted the shift supervisor. The suspect's residence was placed under surveillance and investigators worked throughout the evening on the investigation alongside Washington County District Attorney. Quickly we were able to identify that the suspect did not attend school, and we were not able to determine a locally targeted school.
The anonymous tip was originally received by the Sandy Hook Promise Violence Hotline and forwarded to the FBI, who then passed it to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and ultimately to our office. The information in the tip identified the suspect based on two different social media accounts that the suspect was believed to be using and the FBI learned that one of the accounts provided belonged to the Town of Addison woman. Washington County Investigators obtained a phone number for the tipster from caller ID at Sandy Hook Promise. Detectives maintained frequent contact with the tipster who was in real-time communication with the suspect and provided us with screenshots of their conversations, pictures of weapons, magazines, a tactical vest, and screenshots of the suspect’s bedroom which had numerous photographs of past school shooters.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT team conducted an early morning search warrant on the residence and the 19-year-old was taken into custody. She fully cooperated with authorities, and we quickly learned that the Town of Addison woman was connected to the actual suspect via a social media chat group about school shooters, but was not the person making the threats.
Washington County Detectives began working diligently to identify the actual suspect. One investigator was able to befriend the suspect on social media which allowed us to obtain user information while simultaneously coaching the informant into obtaining the phone number from the suspect. This information told us that the actual suspect was in the State of Indiana and the information was quickly turned back over to the FBI Indianapolis Field Office. Early Thursday morning, we learned from the FBI that 18-year-old Trinity Shockley had been arrested in Mooresville, Indiana, and that the suspect had confessed to plotting to murdering her friend and conducting a school shooting on Valentine's Day.
Currently, we have not uncovered any evidence to suggest that the Town of Addison woman is connected to the plot against the Indiana school and no charges are expected. She was released from custody on Tuesday afternoon. The case remains under investigation.
Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis expressed deep gratitude towards the tipster and his agency. “An absolute catastrophe was thwarted because this tipster who wants to remain anonymous came forward. I have expressed my gratitude to them personally. As I sit back and think about the gravity of this investigation and what horrific outcomes could have occurred if it does not play out the way it did, I cannot help but be humbled by the dedication and performance of my staff.”