A McCurdy School 10th-grader is under criminal investigation after he allegedly wrote a “hit list” of 27 students and seven faculty members he plans to kill.
Ted Koetter, 15, told doctors evaluating his mental state that “people bothered him, he was annoyed, he admitted to depression, and he had a few names of people that he would kill,” Española Police Sgt. Christian Lopez said.
All 27 students on the hit list are fellow 10th-graders, Lopez said. The list, kept in a black and white notebook in Koetter’s bookbag, was taken into evidence Oct. 21, according to Lopez and a report.
Koetter remains out of custody pending a decision from the District Attorney’s office on how to charge the case, Lopez said.
Lopez said he believes Koetter should be charged with attempted murder.
“A lot of people think it’s funny — I’m sure the people in Columbine (High School, site of 1999 shooting) didn’t think (the warning signs) were serious either,” Lopez said. “If you look at the Columbine report, look at the initial information they had prior to the incident — it’s identical to our case.”
Lopez would not release many details about Koetter’s statement to police, except to say Koetter was “shaking and scared” during the interview.
Koetter’s house has not yet been searched — Koetter’s family voluntarily handed over the list during a police visit to their La Mesilla home Oct. 21, Lopez said. Lopez said he did not have probable cause to search the house.
“(Koetter’s) mom said she thought we thought were taking it way out of context,” Lopez said. “In their opinion, their kid’s not capable of doing that.”
The Koetters could not be reached for comment.
The parent who reported Koetter to police said McCurdy School’s “safety plan” gives her some assurance of students’ safety despite Koetter remaining out of custody. Lopez, who recommended Koetter be given the psychological screening, is surprised he was released after making his admissions to doctors.
“After the doctors released him, what if this kid turns around and does something?” Lopez said.
Assistant District Attorney Mike LeBlanc said Tuesday he is awaiting information from the Juvenile Probation Office on the case, and has not yet received any reports from police.
McCurdy Superintendent Daniel Garcia said Lopez’s account of the incident was “not precisely the way it was.” He acknowledged Koetter made a list of students, but denied it was a hit list.
“There was a list of people that this kid put together, who were quote, annoying him, that’s the way he put it,” Garcia said. “Perceptions are there. What you might say is one thing, the way I see it is something else. But there was no way it indicated that this was a hit list.”
Garcia declined to say what, if any, disciplinary action was taken against Koetter, citing student privacy.
“I can’t tell you what I did with the kid, and I expect no administrator here will tell you, either,” Garcia said.
The parent of a member of Koetter’s 10th-grade class who reported Koetter to police said Monday he had been disenrolled from the school.