According to an Iowa City Police criminal complaint, this morning at 12:54 a.m., Iowa City Police responded to the Shelter House homeless shelter in Iowa City for the report of a man making threats of a shooting at a college in Lincoln, Neb., home of the University of Nebraska.I am amazed -- though maybe I shouldn't be -- that they were able to pinpoint exactly where those texts were hailing from.
There they arrested Justin Neil Coleman, 24, of Lincoln, Neb. who is accused of sending several text messages to acquaintances back in Nebraska from late Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning threatening to kill an unnamed woman and to kill additional people at a college. The texts stated: "I am going to shoot up this school tomorrow. Ready to die and fully arm." and "U will see on the news that the KKK cops killed me."
The Lincoln Police pinged the phone that had made the text, finding it at 429 Southgate Avenue, the address of Shelter House. Iowa City Police then found Coleman, the alleged owner of the phone and sender of the texts, coming out of the bathroom with the phone in his possession, and placed him under arrest. Coleman also swore angrily at police as he was being arrested, according to complaints, waking others who had been sleeping as his voice was allegedly audible throughout the building, according to the complaint.
It was unclear from news reports whether or not Coleman actually has any weapons that could be used to shoot up anything, much less a college campus. It is also unclear -- and I have looked around a little bit to find this out -- whether Coleman is still in the Johnson County Jail or if he has been extradited to Lincoln. I'm assuming that since the threats were made while he was living here in Iowa City that he would be prosecuted here, but I'm not sure exactly how these things work. Any guidance from those who know would be helpful.
Anyway, Coleman has been charged with threat of terrorism (a Class D felony) and with causing loud and raucous noise (a simple misdemeanor).