Charges Detail Disturbing Allegations Against St. Olaf Student

The 20-year-old former student remains in custody at the Rice County Jail.

Concern from a campus custodian led investigators at St. Olaf College to discover a student's cache of firearms equipment, knives, a tactical vest and other suspicious items, according to new criminal charges.

Waylon S. Kurts, 20, of Montpelier, Vermont, was removed from campus last week and charged in Rice County District Court on Monday with conspiracy to commit assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence and terroristic threats.

According to the criminal complaint, a search of Kurts' belongings revealed a hand-drawn map of the campus recreational facility with arrows showing an apparent exit path, a "detailed plan" to steal ammunition from Walmart, and a notebook page titled "things to be Good at", which included information about fatally shooting a target.

The notebook page allegedly noted seven out of ten people survive being shot with a handgun and included comments such as "shoot a lot", "pelvis is a good target" and "train these areas."

According to the complaint, campus public safety personnel searched Kurts' room on Wednesday after a custodian reported finding two empty packages for high capacity magazines in the garbage can outside the dormitory.

Speaking to St. Olaf Director of Public Safety Derek Kruse, Kurts reported that he was a gun enthusiast and believed that the firearm equipment he had in his dorm room was within college policy, charges state.

He reported that he keeps his high-capacity magazines and ammunition off campus at the Modern Sportsman in Burnsville.

When Kruse asked Kurts' how he obtained the radio frequencies used by St. Olaf Public Safety, Kurts said he had no idea, charges state. The frequencies were found on a note among the other items in Kurts' room.

Kurts was suspended by St. Olaf and removed from campus.

According to charges, Kruse spoke to Kurts' family who said all of Kurts' firearms were at home in Vermont and he didn't do any shooting in Minnesota.

The Northfield Police Department arrested Kurts on Thursday afternoon in Edina and seized his cell phone and vehicle that day.

Criminal charges allege text messages showed Kurts had conversations with a co-conspirator regarding radio frequencies.

"Several conversations involved firearms including milling and drilling parts to build rifles," the complaint states. "There were also conversations about shipping items to different locations so that packages would not be flagged as suspicious and wouldn’t make the school freak out."

In one conversation, Kurts sent photos showing a box full of rifle magazines.

The following photos showed the box on a bench on campus with the text, "Kids've got no idea whats in here, haha," charges state.

Kurts and the co-conspirator also discussed purchasing handguns from unlicensed sellers, the complaint alleges.

SOURCE: Bring Me The News