Teen accused of threatening to shoot up graduation appears in court

<p>The man accused of plotting to shoot students and teachers at New Egypt&rsquo;s High School graduation ceremony appeared in court this morning.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 25, 2018, 3:20 PM

Updated 2,141 days ago

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The man accused of plotting to shoot students and teachers at New Egypt’s High School graduation ceremony appeared in court this morning.
Matthew Vanderbeek, 19, made a brief court appearance less than a week after his arrest for wanting to shoot up the graduation ceremony. 
Vanderbeek said nothing as prosecutors moved to adjourn this morning's detention hearing. 
Assistant Prosecutor Taylor Toscano said because of new information learned through detectives investigating the case, they moved to reschedule the hearing for Thursday.
According to court records, Vanderbeek made several threats on social media, as well as verbal threats to acquaintances of his. 
Vanderbeek was suspended for several days back in May for threatening to shoot up the Brick Vocational School graduation.
He also said he dyed his hair red to mimic a previous school shooter. 
A friend was allegedly driving Vanderbeek to a sporting good store to try and purchase a weapon before throwing him out of the car after Vanderbeek revealed his intentions. 
Students told administrators about the plot, and he was arrested last week. 
Prosecutors are not saying what new information they have, however, in cases such as this, it is possible additional charges could be filed against him. 
Vanderbeek faces charges of making terroristic threats with a threat to kill and trying to get a firearm for an unlawful purpose.


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