News footage of Ian Fotheringham in court on Sept. 16 (WBZ).
A Massachusetts teenager who was arrested for allegedly expressing a desire to commit a school shooting was allowed by a judge to post bail and go home.
Ian Fotheringham, 18, was taken into custody on Sept. 11 by the Falmouth Police Department, which worked alongside Massachusetts State Police detectives. According to the Falmouth Police Department, concerns about Fotheringham”s behavior came to their attention in August, when investigators received a tip that the teenager allegedly said he “wanted to shoot up a school.” Police said he did not specify which school he allegedly wanted to target, but he reportedly claimed that he was “refurbishing firearms in his room.”
Earlier this month, safety monitors at an elementary school alerted police to a “suspicious male” who allegedly appeared to be “casing” the property. Police identified the man as Fotheringham.
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Police said that after officials received the tip in August about Fotheringham, investigators went to his home and asked to conduct a search. Fotheringham consented to having his room searched, and no weapons were found. A second search after the alleged “casing” incident allegedly uncovered a large 3D printer capable of producing firearms, police said.
Police also searched Fotheringham’s phone and found photos from the Columbine High School shooting. Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Tom Flanagan stated in court on Tuesday, “There are photographs that police indicate were from the dark web showing bloody victims on the ground to include the Columbine killers themselves.”
Court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WBZ stated that Fotheringham was also involved with a white supremacist group online.
The teen was arrested and charged with threatened use of a deadly weapon in a public building. He was initially ordered to be held without bail until his court appearance on Tuesday.
WBZ was in the courtroom for Fotheringham’s hearing, during which more details about his alleged threats and activities were presented by prosecutors and defense attorneys. According to WBZ’s reporting, Fotheringham had allegedly made threats against Falmouth High School, where he used to be a student, in October 2024.
Local ABC affiliate WCVB reported that Fotheringham’s defense attorney Krysten Condon has filed a motion to dismiss the charges. Condon told WCVB that Fotheringham has “not made any threats, nor has he harmed anyone. This is a case of exaggeration and speculation.”
In court, Condon said that Fotheringham was with his mother the day he was allegedly seen “casing” Teaticket Elementary School. She also noted that police “did not find any firearms” during their search, nor did they find clothing that matched what the man seen by school safety monitors was wearing.
A Barnstable District Court judge reduced Fotheringham’s bail to $2,500 on the conditions that he wear a GPS monitoring device and remain on house arrest while receiving mental health treatment. He is allowed to leave the home for legal and medicinal purposes. Fotheringham is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 6.
