TROY, N.Y. - On Thursday afternoon, Troy Police Detectives arrested a 20-year-old man after he allegedly made threats of school violence to be committed at the Lansingburgh High School.
Police were made aware of the threats allegedly published on Facebook by Kyle Pipino, of 312 Roosevelt Avenue in Troy, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
The high school, with the adjoining Knickerbacker Middle School, is occupied by over 1,500 students during the school day.
The threats included vernacular such as "Burgh is lucky I haven't shot up or burned down your [expletive] school yet," "Debating on driving down to Burgh and mowing down the kids with my truck" and "lets see how [expletive] tough you are with a gun pointed in your face."
Detectives immediately attempted to locate and secure Pipino after word of the threats.
After determining a possible address for Pipino, Troy Police advanced on the Roosevelt Avenue location, setting up a secure perimeter and "calling out" the suspect.
A family member at the scene told officers that the suspect was not present, however a short time later while detectives were still at the Roosevelt Avenue location, Pipino arrived and was taken into custody without incident.
An interview of the suspect resulted in admission that he had published the threats, stating he did it to "protect his girlfriend."
Pipino has been charged with Making a Terrorist Threat, a Class B felony. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday morning and is being held without bail.
In court on Friday, Pipino's attorney called him a "good kid" and that the case is a societal problem.
"This is an issue of bullying, and the desperation that people feel towards the victims of bullying, the friends and families," Pipino's attorney Susan Milstein said. "There was never any intent of acting out any types of threats, and hopefully it will be treated as that, and just an understanding of bullying and how we need to address the issues of bullying in our society."
If convicted, Pipino could face 15 to 25 years in prison.
He is due back in court next Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
Kyle Pipino (Photo: Troy Police Dept.)
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