Photographs: Opelousas High principal Del Timico Clark Dunbar helps students into vehicles following lock down Tuesday afternoon. (Photographs by Freddie Herpin.)
Officers with the Opelousas Police Department have made several arrests regarding the threat called into the school on the early afternoon of January 17, 2023.
The caller indicated a shooting would take place at the school, prompting the school
administration to place the school on lockdown. Police personnel responded to the campus, and
once deemed safe, the lockdown was lifted, and students were permitted to leave the campus.
Investigators immediately began following up on the call recieved by the school. Using technical
investigative techniques, investigators were able to determine the origin of the call, which
ultimately led to the arrest of several students, who conspired to make the threatening call to
the school.
Five (5) students have been charged thus far, and more arrests are expected to occur. All have
been or will be charged with Terrorizing, according to LA RS 14:40.1, “Terrorizing is the
intentional communication of information that the commission of a crime of violence is imminent
or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist, with the
intent of causing members of the general public to be in sustained fear for their safety; or causing evacuation of a building, a public structure, or a facility of transportation; or causing other serious
disruption to the general public.”
The Opelousas Police Department takes offenses such as these very seriously, as those who
commit these crimes severely disrupt the normal operations of the educational process. What
may seem like a simple prank could result in severe consequences for those who engage in such
reckless behavior.
