Police swarm Sam Barlow High over MySpace comments | Schools

Monday was a mad day at Sam Barlow High. In what police describe as one teen's test of MySpace monitoring, two former students used their MySpace accounts to make comments that had police swarming the school and landed both in jail.

Just after noon on Nov. 23 Gresham police received a call from someone identified only as "a concerned citizen" about MySpace postings from two former Sam Barlow High School students. Police have said the postings "discussed plans for a school shooting or attack on Sam Barlow High School." KATU.com staff has not seen the postings.

Officers from four law enforcement agencies were "promptly" dispatched to the school. They surrounded the area at 5105 S.E. 302nd Ave. in Gresham.

An on-site Gresham School Resource Officer coordinated their actions with the school's administration.This officer identified that one of the posters was a former student of Sam Barlow High School, 18-year-old Martin Varsamas of Gresham. Police said Varsamas posted to MySpace that he was "bored" and that he asked if anyone wanted to help him shoot up Barlow. 

Varsamas reportedly received a response from 18-year-old Keith Nelson of Troutdale, also a former student of Sam Barlow High School.

Police tell reporters that the MySpace conversation between the two "plotted to kill the [school resource officer] first, because the officer was an armed threat." Police say that the two then talked about killing teachers next and students last. "Nelson also indicated a need for them to probably have to commit suicide," according to one police report.

Again, KATU.com staff has not seen the actual MySpace text to be able to verify these statements.

Officers drove to Varsamas' home, about 20 blocks from the school. They said they "made contact with him while he was still seated at his computer."

Varsamas admitted that the MySpace conversation was his own, according to police. However, police said he told them that the chat was not serious and "admitted that it was kind of a litmus test to see if there really are 'MySpace Police.'"

"Varsamas said he was curious about how much trouble he would get into for posting the threat," according to the report. "Varsamas told officers that he has been studying school shootings" and "knew quite a bit" about the 1998 Thurston High School shooting in Springfield, Ore.

The report said Varsamas "naturally picked Barlow for the posted threats" since "he had attended school there and it would be odd to do it anywhere else."

Police said Varsamas described himself and Nelson as "disgruntled students" who were angry about perceived wrongs done to them. However, he assured police that he "would never allow a shooting to actually occur."

Varsamas was taken into custody on a charge of harassment. 
   
Officers then drove to Nelson's home, making contact with him there. Nelson was taken into custody, also charged of harassment, and taken to the Gresham police station for his interview. 

Police said Nelson "confessed to sending a number of MySpace messages about killing people at Barlow, the School Resource Officer in particular." They said Nelson also stated that he "was not serious about carrying out the plot."

The teens are being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center. Varsamas and Nelson both now face charges of disorderly conduct I and harassment (3 counts), with their bails set at half a million dollars each.

Investigators are reportedly looking into whether the threats could have been real, and whether others were involved. They said other charges could be added "depending on where the ongoing investigation leads."