Police: Person responsible for threat against Liberty student in custody

North Liberty police have taken into custody a person believed to be responsible for a threat that closed Liberty High School on Friday.

The Iowa City Community School District announced early Friday that all classes and activities at Liberty would be canceled for the day after administrators say they received a credible threat to "shoot up the school."

Police took the person believed to be responsible for the threat into custody at about 9:30 a.m., according to a news release. Extracurricular activities at Liberty resumed Friday following the arrest of the suspect, according to the release.

Nick Bergus, a spokesman for the city of North Liberty, confirmed that the suspect has been charged with first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, and threat of terrorism, a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Because the person taken into custody is a minor, police will not release further information, according to the release.

"We’re not releasing information whether or not the suspect is or is not" a student at Liberty, Bergus said.

The threat was reported late Thursday and included a reference to an individual student, according to a statement posted to the Iowa City Community School District's website. The district's statement warned students and staff not to report to Liberty on Friday.

North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said the threat was made through an anonymous profile in an Instagram group chat among students.

Four North Liberty police officers investigated the threat overnight, Venenga said, but their investigation was unresolved by Friday morning, leading the school to cancel classes, according to the district's statement.

Venenga said Friday morning before the arrest that she did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public.

Venenga said that students and families connected with the anonymous posts spoke with police Friday morning as part of the investigation.

Classes at other schools in the district were held as normal Friday.

A news release from the district said Liberty reopened to staff at 1 p.m. Friday and that varsity boys and girls basketball coaches would be in touch with them about practice plans.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter: @sgrubermiller.