FAIRVIEW Twp. — Less than one week after his 18th birthday, a message scrawled in pencil on a bathroom wall of the Karns City High School led to the incarceration of a young Armstrong County man after police say he threatened to blow up the school.

Garrett M. DeBacco, 18, of Cowansville, a student at the Karns City High School, was charged Friday with felony threats to use weapons of mass destruction after the incident that occurred at the school, 1446 Kittaning Pike, Fairview Township, at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 20.

State police said DeBacco announced to his classmates and teacher that he had found a bomb threat written on the boy's bathroom wall of the high school, stating “Im Blowing up the school at 1:00 p.m. on 02/20.”

This touched off an evacuation all 730 students and 80 employees and response by state police. After the evacuation, school officials released all the students about one hour early, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Police said the threat appeared to be written in pencil, and was later removed by the district after it was found to be a hoax.

To find out more about this case, read Monday's Butler Eagle.