A 20-year-old college student has been charged after items believed to be intended for a “mass casualty event” were found in his dorm room in Minnesota.
Waylon Kurts, a sophomore at private St. Olaf College in Northfield, about 45 miles south of Minneapolis, was arrested last week and has since been charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence, making terroristic threats and conspiracy to commit theft.
The investigation began last Wednesday when a custodian at the school found two empty packages for high-capacity gun magazines in a garbage can outside dorm rooms. The packages, which had been sent to an off-campus address, belonged to Kurts.
Campus police then searched Kurts’ dorm room and found two knives, a tactical vest, propane canisters, gun earmuffs, pistol and rifle magazines, an empty box of ammunition, a lock pick set and other items, prosecutors said.
A notebook found in the dorm room contained police radio frequencies, a hand-drawn map of the college’s recreational facility, and a detailed plan to steal ammunition from Walmart, the Star Tribune reported.
Northfield police then began searching for Kurts and arrested him outside of a business in nearby Edina. Investigators found suspicious texts on his phone, including messages between Kurts and an unlicensed gun seller. Notes found in his vehicle allegedly read “combat is much faster and closer than you think” and “7/10 people shot with handguns survive. Shoot a lot.”
Paul Rogosheske, Kurts’ attorney, told the Star Tribune that his client is an avid hunter who shoots a lot and drew the map for someone else. He added that no guns or ammunition were found in his possession.
Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott said investigators are still trying to determine what, if anything, Kurts was planning. His family told investigators his guns were at their Vermont home but a shooting range by the school said Kurts had been there.
Kurts, who is Montpelier, Vt., and is a member of the college’s track team, has been suspended by the school.