A Rice County District Court judge has dismissed two felony charges filed last year against a former St. Olaf College student who is accused of planning a “mass casualty” shooting event at the school.
Waylon Sieber Kurts, 21, of Montpelier, Vt., was arrested last April after authorities found weapons, accessories, and several other concerning items in his dorm room at the college, including a hand-drawn map of a recreational facility that included arrows indicating a possible exit path.
During a search of his dorm room, authorities also found knives, a tactical vest, a 24-round Glock pistol magazine, fireworks, lighter fluid, six propane canisters, a battery with wires, a lock pick set, shooting earmuffs, empty boxes from ammunition and gun magazines, as well as a note containing radio frequencies for St. Olaf Public Safety and a notebook with numerous writings.
School authorities were first alerted on the morning of April 5, 2023, after custodial staff found empty packages for high-capacity magazines, one for a rifle (60 rounds), the other for a Glock pistol (24 rounds), in a garbage can outside the dorm rooms. Packaging addressed to Kurts was found in the garbage can but contained an off-campus address.
Staff engaged with Kurts following the initial discovery, but Kurts eventually left campus before police were contacted. Kurts was arrested the following day in Edina.
Kurts was subsequently charged with felony counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence, and terroristic threats, as well as a misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit theft.
Following Kurts’ arrest, a warrant was obtained to search his cellphone where authorities found several text messages with a person who was described at the time as a co-conspirator but had remained unnamed.
Some conversations involved discussing radios and listening to various frequencies. Several conversations involved firearms, including milling and drilling parts to build rifles. 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.”
One text message conversation included photos from Kurts showing a box that was full of rifle magazines on a bench on the St. Olaf campus with the text, “Kids’ve got no idea whats in here, haha [sic].” The two also discussed purchasing handguns from unlicensed sellers.
Last week, Rice County Judge Christine Long issued a 32-page order dismissing the two felony conspiracy counts against Kurts.
Judge Long summarized that that the text conversations between Kurts and the alleged co-conspirator, named in the order as Nate Mays, demonstrated “no evidence in the record that Kurts and Mays were in agreement to commit either threats of violence or second-degree assault.”
She said both individuals spent a significant amount of time discussing firearms, firearm builds, and performance of certain builds, as well as purchasing parts for firearms. “Indeed, Mays actively encouraged Defendant to keep his firearms materials off campus because the items were things that would potentially cause alarm if discovered on campus,” Judge Long wrote in her order.
The judge’s order also notes that law enforcement never located any firearms or ammunition and that no individual reported that Kurts had ever made threats against anyone.
The case against Kurts is still on track for jury trial on the two remaining counts of felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor conspiracy to commit theft. A trial date is not yet listed in the court record.
Kurts remains out of custody on conditional release bail and is reported to be staying with his family in Vermont.
– – –
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
