HACKETTSTOWN — His comments ranged from desperate to erratic to paranoid.

But in the end, the man who made a threatening 911 call that sent Hackettstown into a panic made only two things clear — he was going to kill people, and he was going to be famous afterward.

"I’m gonna be a superstar cause I read on the news, am I right," the caller said. "cause I will k, I will kill many kids."

A month after a man identifying himself as "Kevin McGowan" claimed he was stalking the outside of Hackettstown High School with an assault rifle, Warren County authorities released a transcript of the bizarre and rambling conversation between the would-be gunman and a 911 dispatcher.

The transcript of the March 27 call was released pursuant to an Open Public Records Acts request filed by The Star-Ledger and three other newspapers. Requests for an audio recording were denied because of the ongoing investigation, officials said.

The phone call forced authorities to lock down the high school, Centenary College and several other Hackettstown schools for four hours while police searched for area. The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office eventually deemed the threat unfounded, but the tense hours still left students and parents with frayed nerves.

Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke said authorities have not identified a suspect in connection with the call, and it remains unclear if the caller used his real name. The caller contacted 911 twice, using a different identity each time, Burke said. Authorities were not able to release a transcript of the second call because of a technical problem, Burke said.

Burke said he believes the call was placed from a mobile phone, which is making it hard to trace its origin.

In the call, the man identifies himself as "Kevin McGowan" and rambles almost incoherently, according to the 16-page transcript. He seems disturbed and curses frequently, claiming he is using drugs. He alternately threatens the lives of students and accuses the 911 dispatcher of wanting to "stab him"

"I’m gonna kill the kids at the school, using my AK-47," the caller says.

The caller grows more paranoid as the conversation continues, at one point describing himself as a 19-year-old high school dropout strung out on drugs. When the dispatcher asks the caller what drugs he ingested, he replies "you want to stab me."

The conversation grows more erratic with each exchange. After wondering if the dispatcher is going to hurt him, the caller becomes worried about being shot by a sniper.

"I know you’re gonna shoot me through my, my head, just my arm or back cause you know," he says.

When the call starts, "Kevin" is pleading for help. Early on, he tells the dispatcher "I want to be die, I want to be dead."

When the dispatcher asks why the caller wants to harm the students, "Kevin" seems to reach a breaking point.

"I hate my life, and I want to (expletive) kill the people," he says. "fo the, my, my brothers here, my father here."

In his final words on the transcript, "Kevin" responds to the dispatcher’s questions about where help could be sent to find him:

" … to, to Hackettstown High School and you, you can, you can find …"

Burke said while the threat was described as unfounded on March 27, he’s treating the call as a credible danger.

"Until we identify this person, we treat it as a credible threat, to do anything different would be a mistake, he said."

The Warren Reporter contributed to this report.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE 911 CALL

(Note: Some of the language may be offensive)

Related coverage:

• Transcript of 911 call that spurred lockdown reveals threats to Hackettstown students

• Hackettstown High School students discuss lockdown

• After lockdowns, Hackettstown Police keep "extra eyes" on schools

• Warren County Prosecutor: We'll find caller who sent Hackettstown schools into lockdown