Facebook clues led police to suspect in Skyline shooting threat
October 3, 2012
NEW — 4 p.m. Oct. 3, 2012
Police said a trail of comments on Facebook led investigators to the suspect in the Sept. 20 shooting threat against Skyline High School.
Parker Mace, shown as a freshman in the 2011 Skyline High School yearbook.
Facebook taunts directed at Skyline High School students concerned about a school shooting threat linked the incident to a 16-year-old Edmonds boy and former Skyline student.
Police said Parker N. Mace posted the Skyline threat on the online bulletin board 4chan just before midnight Sept. 19. Then, after frightened Skyline students created a Facebook group to discuss the threat, police said Mace posted mocking comments.
Information from friends of Mace also aided investigators.
Police arrested Mace for harassment and cyberstalking — both felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The Issaquah Press earns statewide journalism, social media honors
October 2, 2012
Bolstered by minute-by-minute coverage from a downtown standoff last year, The Issaquah Press earned top honors for reporting and use of social media — plus awards for photography, design and advertising — at a statewide journalism conference Sept. 28.
Overall, the newspaper and staff members received 25 awards in the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
The staff earned news, photography and social media awards for coverage during and after a gunman menaced downtown Issaquah on Sept. 24, 2011.
Reporter Warren Kagarise earned first place for Best Use of Social Media for documenting the event on Facebook and Twitter.
The Issaquah Press earns statewide journalism, social media honors
October 1, 2012
NEW — 10 a.m. Oct. 1, 2012
Bolstered by minute-by-minute coverage from a downtown standoff last year, The Issaquah Press earned top honors for reporting and use of social media — plus awards for photography, design and advertising — at a statewide journalism conference Sept. 28.
Overall, the newspaper and staff members received 25 awards in the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
The staff earned news, photography and social media awards for coverage during and after a gunman menaced downtown Issaquah on Sept. 24, 2011.
Reporter Warren Kagarise earned first place for Best Use of Social Media for documenting the event on Facebook and Twitter.
Skyline High School closes for day due to online shooting threat
September 25, 2012
King County Sheriff Steve Strachan speaks during a news conference Sept. 20 at Sammamish City Hall, across the street from the Skyline High School campus. By Greg Farrar
Skyline High School closed Sept. 20, after a still-unidentified online bulletin board user threatened to unleash a Columbine-style attack and shoot students on campus.
Online scare, response unfurl on social media
September 25, 2012
The threat against Skyline High School unfolded almost entirely in the social media realm — as students took to Twitter and Facebook to dissect the threat, school district officials used the tools to calm parents’ fears and investigators probed online for clues.
In the late-night hours of Sept. 19, as police and school administrators determined how to address a purported mass shooting on the Skyline campus the next day, students traded information and innuendo on social networking services.
Spurred by Skyline threat, absences jump 70 percent at Issaquah schools
September 20, 2012
NEW — 6:15 p.m. Sept. 20, 2012
Student attendance in the Issaquah School District tumbled Thursday, and absences spiked by 70 percent, as police investigated a shooting threat against Skyline High School.
District administrators decided late Wednesday to close Skyline on Thursday and keep other campuses open. Staffers and students at other schools felt the ripples early.
Districtwide, absences increased at 18 of 25 schools Thursday, although not every instance is attributable to the Skyline threat.
Officials counted 1,158 students absent Thursday, up from 680 a week earlier, Sept. 13, according to a comparison of attendance data. The district serves about 17,000 students from Preston to Newcastle, and from Sammamish to Renton.
Investigation into Skyline threat continues as attendance drops elsewhere
September 20, 2012
UPDATED — 5 p.m. Sept. 20, 2012
Police continue to investigate a shooting threat against students at Skyline High School, as attendance at other Issaquah School District campuses — particularly Sammamish Plateau schools near Skyline — declined Thursday.
District administrators announced a decision late Wednesday to close Skyline after a threat made online targeted the school for a mass shooting. The district kept all other schools open.
Skyline also canceled all extracurricular activities and school athletics events scheduled for Thursday.
Sammamish Police Administrative Sgt. Jessica Sullivan said police continue to follow several leads on the identity of the user behind the threat posted Wednesday on the online bulletin board 4chan. Investigators have not yet been able to determine if the user is a Skyline student.
Compassion House seeks votes in grant contest
September 18, 2012
Issaquah-based Compassion House, a nonprofit provider of transitional housing for homeless families, could receive a boost in a national contest.
Through the Chase Community Giving program, the banking giant is offering $5 million to charities. Chase Community Giving allows fans to help choose charities to receive grants from Chase.
Participants can cast votes for Compassion House at the Chase Community Giving program Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ChaseCommunityGiving, or through the Chase website, www.chase.com/ChaseGiving.
Each Facebook voter is allowed one vote. Participants voting through the Chase website can cast two votes. The voting period is open until Sept. 19.
Washington State Patrol answers online safety questions via Twitter
September 12, 2012
NEW — 10 a.m. Sept. 12, 2012
Washington State Patrol detectives experienced in investigations of computer crimes against children plan to answer questions Wednesday about online safety.
Twitter users can use the hashtag #askWSP to ask the detectives questions during the 90-minute Q&A session. The only off-limits topic is anything related to active cases. The event runs from 2:30-4 p.m.
Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez is the commander of Washington’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force and recently involved in the much-publicized arrests of Internet predators in Elma and Spanaway.
Sgt. Jesse Regalado commands the agency’s High-Tech Crimes Unit and is a recognized expert at recovering information off hard drives of missing persons and suspects.
In Issaquah and Tampa, local Republicans join party festivities
September 4, 2012
State Sen. Dino Rossi visits the floor at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Contributed
Cyrus Krohn, a pioneer in efforts to increase the GOP’s online presence, sat out the 2012 Republican National Convention.
The downtown Issaquah resident did not attend the convention in Tampa, Fla. — not in person, at least.
Instead, Krohn, a former digital strategist for the Republican National Committee, participated in a Google+ Hangout — or group video chat — streamed at the convention.
“Technology is such now that I feel like I’m a virtual participant in that I can keep up with everything, I can watch Web videos, I can follow the tweets and the posts,” he said. “It’s almost as good as being there without having to wear a raincoat.”
Even downpours from then-Tropical Storm Isaac did not dampen the mood in Tampa as party faithful gathered to nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president.
