The 18-year-old accused of threatening a shooting at Platte County High School in May is now out of jail on house arrest.
Joshua Clark, who was charged Wednesday, May 17 with making a terrorist threat aimed at the Platte City high school, was being held under a $100,000 cash only bond. He appeared in court Thursday, June 8 for a bond review hearing. Clark posted $10,000 - 10 percent of the $100,000 - during the Thursday court appearance, provided he remain on house arrest under GPS monitoring. Additionally, he may not have access to weapons, may have no contact with Platte County schools and must undergo a mental health evaluation.
In late May, when setting the $100,000 bond, judge Dennis Eckhold found Clark posed a danger to the public. Clark’s bond had initially been set at $10,000. Clark is due back in court on Thursday, July 13.
According to court documents, Clark told a student on Sunday, May 14 that he would commit a school shooting on Monday, May 15. The conversation took place in a Platte City hardware store and the student later reported it to Platte City police.
Clark allegedly asked the student if she went to school on Friday, May 12, after a threat was made last week at the school.
At that time, school officials believed the threat was the re-circulation of a threat from earlier in the school year. While security on campus was beefed up, it was determined the threat was not credible.
That changed on May 14 with the conversation at the hardware store. Clark reportedly asked the student if she’d used him as an excuse not to attend school Friday, with another young man with Clark allegedly stating “He’s a school shooter threat.”
Clark then allegedly said that Monday, May 15 was his planned day and that he would set a new record, referencing the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed.
Clark also allegedly said he could target Black students and referenced the number “33.” According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number “33” is used by the Ku Klux Klan to stand for the name of their organization.
During an interview with police on May 15, Clark denied stating May 15 was “the day” he would shoot up the school, but he did talk about breaking the Virginia record and continued to reference the number “33.”