A 13-year-old Eatonville student who authorities say kept a "kill list" of other students who angered him and had access to guns has been charged with four counts of felony harassment. The charges, one for each of four children whose names were on the list, were filed Feb. 11 by the Pierce County prosecutor's office. The accused student, a boy in the eighth grade at Eatonville Middle School, was arrested Feb. 8 and taken to Remann Hall, Pierce County's juvenile detention facility in Tacoma. A court hearing was scheduled for last Thursday to determine how long he'd be held. A decision hadn't been reported by Friday. Formal charges against the boy allege that he threatened bodily injury "by words of conduct" and created fear that the threats would be carried out. In documents submitted to Juvenile Court by deputy prosecutor Kevin Benton, the head of the prosecuting attorney's juvenile division, authorities said the boy admitted to the school's principal that he had lists titled "Kill list," "Eteranal kill list," "No kill list" and "Eternal no kill list." He showed the principal the no-kill lists, which had names on them, but said he'd thrown the kill list away at home, authorities reported. School officials, the boy and some of his relatives went to his home to retrieve the kill list, but he was "unable or unwilling to provide the list," prosecutors said. The list later was found in a recycling bin in the boy's math classroom. On it were the names of five other students. Four of them "expressed fear because of these threats," but it wasn't immediately known if the fifth also felt threatened, Benton said in charging documents. Other students also feared "that something bad would happen as a result of this list," Benton said. He said police learned the boy has access in his home to guns used for hunting. A student who knew about the lists said the boy told him he makes the kill list "because when people do things that upset him, he would say, 'I'm going to kill you' or 'You are on my kill list," Benton said. The boy was taken out of class Feb. 11 for questioning before being arrested. Because of his young age, his name isn't being reported by The Dispatch. Eatonville School District superintendent Rich Stewart said school officials followed the district's policy for handling such situations, including reassurances of parents that all steps are taken to keep their children safe at school. A recorded telephone call explaining the incident and the school's response was placed to parents Feb. 11 by the middle school principal.
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