On Thursday, Aug. 29, the High Point Police Department released a statement regarding the alleged school shooter threat that made national news earlier this week.
The short press release from the Police Department stated that, on Tuesday, Aug. 22, the department was contacted by High Point University representatives who told police that university security officers were “in contact with a student in possession of two firearms as well as ammunition in his dorm room.”
According to the statement, the High Point Police officer who arrived at the student’s dorm room observed the firearms, seized them, and arrested the student, Paul A Steber – a 19-year-old freshman from Boston.
The department transported him to the High Point Police Department for questioning, according to the statement.
Sterner was charged with two counts of “Weapons on Campus or Other Educational Property,”– a Class F felony punishable by 10 to 41 months in prison. He was then taken to the Guilford County jail in High Point and held under a $2 million secure bond.
The statement from the department reads, “Through the course of the investigation, detectives developed probable cause to charge Steber with one count of Communicating a Threat of Mass Violence on Educational Property. The bond for the third charge was set at $1 million.”
This matter is still under investigation, and, for that reason, the Department states, no “investigative details” will be released.
The High Point Police Department will continue to work with officials from High Point University – however, at this time, according to the department, there are no indications of additional threats at the university.
The High Point Police Department also used this as a way to help encourage the public’s help in thwarting these types of threats.
“This incident illustrates the importance of the public reporting suspicious activity to authorities,” the statement reads. “Information from the public is often the critical first step in preventing acts of mass violence. For details on recognizing the signs of suspicious activity, visit the Department of Homeland Security’s ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign website at dhs.gov/see-something-say-something.”
It adds, “High Point Police Detectives remain diligent in identifying those persons involved in criminal activity in High Point and holding them and their associates responsible for their actions,” and the statement notes that anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000.
