The father of the student who threatened to blow up Minden High School was arrested for possession of drugs when Minden police searched his home for explosives.
Mohammed A. Khattab, 43, of the 900 block of Drew Lane, was arrested by Minden police Tuesday, Feb. 16 for possession of Schedule I CDS (synthetic marijuana) with intent to distribute.
Minden Police Chief Steve Cropper says following the arrest of the 15-year-old juvenile for the threat at the school, his father, Khattab, came to police headquarters with his son for questioning.
“The 15-year-old made the statement, said he was kidding, even though he did make the statement,” he said.
“And for precautionary reasons, we asked Khattab if it would be alright to go to the residence to search the boy’s room and any garage or shed he may have had access to make sure there weren’t any bomb-making materials.”
Khattab agreed and signed a waiver of consent, Cropper said.
Captains Daniel Weaver and Marvin Garrett, Detectives Chris Cheatham and Keith King Jr. and Officer First Class Jesse Cutrer began their search but didn’t find any materials consistent with making a bomb, Cropper said. Two Louisiana State Police troopers also assisted in the search.
During a search of the shed in the back of the residence, Cropper says they discovered 394 packages of what appeared to be synthetic marijuana, equating to 1,549 grams with a street value of $9,850.
Khattab was then placed under arrest at his residence, transported to police headquarters for booking and transferred to Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center.
Cropper says Khattab’s son had been arrested on terrorizing charges after he made a comment that he would blow up the school Tuesday at 3 p.m.
As a precaution, students were evacuated to the Webster Parish Educational Resource Center and surrounding streets were blocked off while Minden police, Webster Parish Sheriff’s deputies, Minden Fire Department firefighters and Louisiana State Police troopers searched the school building for any type of explosives. No explosives were found, and Cropper says reports that school officials knew about the threat before Tuesday are unfounded.
Cropper gave special thanks to the Minden Fire Department, the Webster Parish School Board, the high school teachers and administration, Louisiana State Police and the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office for the outstanding job of making sure all the students were safe during the threat.
“They all did a fantastic job,” he said.
