Rock Ridge student who made shooting threat sentenced to 3 years probation

VIRGINIA — A student who threatened to bring a gun to Rock Ridge High School in Virginia and shoot his classmates will remain on supervised probation for three years after entering a guilty plea in the felony case.

Elijah Kehn,19, of Eveleth was sentenced earlier this month in St. Louis County District Court.

For one count of felony threats of violence, Judge Robert Friday ordered Kehn to serve 83 days in jail, for which he received credit for time served. Two counts of felony threats of violence were dismissed.

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Rock Ridge HS student faces felonies for school shooting threat

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The St. Louis County Attorney's Office successfully petitioned for the student to be placed under an extreme risk protection order, Minnesota's new red flag law.

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Kehn pleaded guilty and waived his right to a jury trial in July.

Police responded April 3 to Rock Ridge High School when the assistant principal called about a lunchroom incident, which was reported by students whom Kehn threatened in his statements.

The students said Kehn was upset he didn’t get what he wanted for lunch and was complaining about the school.

When students challenged Kehn about his complaints, he became angry. He said he could buy a gun and told those at the lunch table he would shoot them first when he brought the gun to school.

Kehn remains under an extreme risk protection order, according to court records, and was an early example of the use of the state’s new red flag law.

Under the law, city and county attorneys, law enforcement and family or household members can petition a judge for these protection orders as a preventative measure when someone appears to be a threat to others or themselves.

The orders immediately bar someone from possessing firearms and require law enforcement officers to retrieve those weapons. Long-term orders can last between six months and a year.