Student jailed
JEFFERSON TWP — A Knoch High School student who posted a video to social media showing him firing repeated rounds from a semi-automatic rifle with the caption “Training for prom walk” has been arrested.
Middlesex Township police charged Jason M. Bowen, 18, of Penn Township after the video was posted overnight Sunday.
He is in the Butler County Prison on a $100,000 straight cash bail.
Bowen is charged with a felony count of causing or risking a catastrophe and misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, possession of a prohibited offensive weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was arraigned Monday morning and initially given a $25,000 bond with the condition that he undergo a mental health evaluation.
But later that morning, District Judge Sue Haggerty increased Bowen's bail.
“This was as a precaution,” Haggerty said. “I have concerns for students and the community as to (Bowen's) mental state.”
Sgt. Randy Ruediger of the Middlesex Township force said Monday that a third party saw the video online around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, recorded it and took it to the state police barracks in Butler Township.
State police then alerted Middlesex and Penn Township police, who worked together on the investigation.
Ruediger said officers took Bowen into custody at 1:48 a.m. Monday at his family's home in the 100 block of Church Road near the border of Penn and Middlesex townships.
Police said that in addition to the video, the person who reported it also showed police a post from Bowen's Instagram profile in February in which Bowen is accused of switching out a photo of grieving parents on a front page of a newspaper that reported on the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.
Bowen inserted a photo of himself giving a thumbs-up hand gesture regarding the massacre.
Twenty first-graders and six educators were killed in the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre. A 20-year-old former student was the shooter, and he killed himself as police arrived at the school.Middlesex police said they also found a set of brass knuckles, a used marijuana pipe and a container with marijuana residue in Bowen's bedroom, according to documents.Additionally, police said they confiscated the rifle they believe was shown in the video. The gun was found at the home of Bowen's friend.Ruediger said officers were spending Monday afternoon and evening determining who owns the AK-style weapon.He said if the weapon is owned legally, there will likely be no charges against the owner.“The mere fact of another guy having the gun has no bearing on the threat that was made,” Ruediger said. “Not to say that may not change.”Bowen's attorney, David Shrager, said Monday that Bowen is the son of the pastor of Middlesex Presbyterian Church, which is on Church Road.“They're good people with no criminal history,” Shrager said. “They are upset and obviously this young man made a very poor decision. That being said, it was not a real threat.”He said the video was not meant to be taken seriously.“We are aware of the serious nature of these allegations due to tragedies that have occurred around our nation,” Shrager said. “My client made what he perceived to be a joke. It was in extremely bad taste, insensitive and foolish.”Police are taking the matter “extremely seriously,” said Middlesex Township police officer Conrad Pfeifer.
“We don't consider this a joke,” he said. “It's a threat to the community.”Shrager said he is in the early stages of the case at this point.“I will continue my investigation and we look forward to our day in court to address these matters,” he said.Bowen's preliminary hearing is scheduled Jan. 16 at Haggerty's court.David Foley, South Butler School District superintendent, said the district was placed on modified lockdown because school officials were alerted to the threat during the overnight hours by police.“We wanted to make sure the district administration and school police had an opportunity to talk through the incident,” Foley said.He said because of the lockdown, no visitors were to be permitted on campus Monday.“The doors are always locked, but until more information (emerges) and we're confident with the investigation and everything is buttoned up, we wanted to not have visitors coming into the buildings,” Foley said.School staff and faculty received a message regarding the threat upon their arrival Monday morning, Foley said.He would not comment on whether any other students are involved in the threat.
