Sheriff outlines reason for Vian School lockdown
Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. says he knows Thursday was an extremely hectic and stressful day for parents, teachers, students and the townspeople of Vian after Vian Public Schools was locked down as a precaution following a “disturbing” video that was posted to social media.
One arrested after video with AR15 surfaces on social media
Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. says he knows Thursday was an extremely hectic and stressful day for parents, teachers, students and the townspeople of Vian after Vian Public Schools was locked down as a precaution following a “disturbing” video that was posted to social media.
“I received a call about the video at around 11:15 a.m. This video had vulgar, racially threatening language, and showed a man pointing what looked to be an AR15 rifle towards the camera, and then placing a mask over his face while the text words said ‘Heading to the big V’,” Lane said.
Lane said he contacted Vian Public School and Vian police and advised them to lock the school down, sending deputies to assist.
“Meanwhile, I began searching for the author of the video, whom we were able to identify as Hunter Craighead of Fort Smith, Ark.,” he said. “Once I found a possible location for him, we had Fort Smith police go to the residence to try and contact him but they were not able to find him.”
Lane said he then told deputies Galen Irvin and Colton Goff to go to Craighead’s residence in Fort Smith and he would meet them there. There they located Craighead, who was reportedly still in possession of the AR-15 rifle from his video.
Lane said Craighead was fully cooperative with authorities and apologetic.
“We detained him and contacted the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office to come to our location,” he said. “He was then placed under arrest for an outstanding Sebastian County warrant, as well as the hold for Sequoyah County’s new charges.”
Craighead, 27, was formally charged Jan. 19 in Sequoyah County District Court with a felony count of threaten to perform act of violence and a warrant was issued for his arrest the same day, according to court records.
“I’d also like to thank the parents and townspeople of Vian for your patience and understanding. I know you wanted to rush to the school to get your babies out of there, I would have felt the same way,” Lane said.
“We have strict protocols when it comes to school lockdowns. I told our officers to let no one in and no one out, and my deputies, Vian police, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the school, all followed this perfectly,” Lane concluded.
Vian Public Schools chose to go virtual on Friday and issued the following statement: “In order to regroup and provide ongoing support for students and staff following Thursday’s events, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, will be a virtual day for Vian Public School students. Faculty and staff will report to school tomorrow at 9:30. We are thankful that the school day ended safely and we will continue to work together to build a safe environment.”
