A former student of the Old Forge High School is facing charges for threatening to come to the school "with a machine gun," according to police.
22-year-old Joshua Rex Rohland of Pittston was arrested on charges of terroristic threats and harassment after the school district said they received a threat on Oct. 5.
According to an affidavit, the school district received a call in the morning, where the caller reportedly said bigoted things and hung up.
Another call was made, and the individual on the phone said "I should just shoot it up," police said.
The individual was placed on speaker by a compliance officer. He reportedly asked the officer why the school has a Jewish curriculum and asked "how would you like it if I come there with a machine gun."
The caller then continued to rant "about the school district allowing transgender, Black and Puerto Rican students into the district" and said that "the district is diverse and that was not normal," police said.
Officials believed the caller sounded like Rohland, a former student. The school then went into lockdown and students sheltered in place.
Authorities were able to track down Rohland through the caller ID.
Rohland waived his preliminary hearing on Monday and is currently locked up in the Lackawanna County Prison, unable to pay $25,000 bail.
Officials with the Old Forge School District said they were unable to comment on the incident.
It's not the first time Rohland has been charged for an incident involving the Old Forge School District.
He was arrested back in July 2019, at the age of 18, for breaking into and painting swastikas in the Old Forge High School.
He pled guilty on charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing and vandalizing and educational institution. In 2021, he was sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to participate in a treatment program.
Rohland's arrest comes weeks after some individuals were identified by officials for threatening other school districts in our area.