Gunnison man arrested after local schools initiate lockdown

District inundated with calls from concerned parents

The Gunnison Watershed School District initiated a lockdown procedure at all of the valley’s school buildings last Friday, January 31, after police were notified of a Facebook message in which a Gunnison man threatened his son, who is a student in Gunnison, and said he would “turn this valley into a blood bath.”

According to a Gunnison Police arrest affidavit, Police dispatch was contacted by a woman who had gotten a threatening Facebook message from her estranged husband, 42-year-old Curtis Finney. She told dispatchers that “detailed threats” were made toward three people, whose names have been redacted from official documents, including Finney’s son.
According to a press release from the district, “At 8:20 a.m., January 31st, the Superintendent’s office was alerted by police dispatch of a threat and requested that the Gunnison Schools initiate Lockdown procedures” until police could contact the person who had made the threat.
According to the affidavit, “She [e]specially felt the Gunnison Schools could be at risk of serious harm.” The message, according to police records, repeats the phrase “normal life is over” and makes clear death threats against the woman and her son, at one point saying, “I have guns with banana clips and hand grenades now…Good luck at any kind of normal life when you’re in the national headlines…I will turn this valley into a blood bath…”
During a lockdown, students and teachers are locked in classrooms and told to remain away from windows until police establish there is no threat at the school. Because the threat was made against a student in Gunnison, school officials locked down all Gunnison schools, as well as the district’s bus garage and the Crested Butte Community School.
Shortly after 9 a.m., while officers were unable to contact Finney at home or work, he called the dispatcher and wanted to know why police had attempted to contact him. He agreed to meet with officers just as Undersheriff Randy Barnes pulled in behind Finney with his lights on.
Barnes made the arrest for a protection order violation and Finney was taken to Gunnison County Jail. He told Gunnison Police he had been drinking the night before and didn’t remember sending any messages or what he might have said.
He was charged with domestic violence, as well as misdemeanors for sending harassing communications, violating a protection order, interfering with staff, faculty or students of an educational institution and felony menacing. According to the affidavit he was being held without bond.
Word of the emergency procedures shot through both communities and quickly exceeded the district’s ability to respond to parent concerns individually.
The Crested Butte Community School sent a note to parents asking them to let the school do the calling in emergency situations.
“We are fortunate to have a new communication system which allows us to send mass emails and phone calls to best communicate with parents. Before and immediately after we sent the mass phone call on Friday, we received dozens of phone calls from concerned parents. Please know that in an emergency situation our number one priority is the safety of the students in the building,” the note said. “We are unable to effectively respond to phone calls, and we did not have any additional information that we were able to share. The sheer quantity of incoming calls slowed down the process of sending the mass communication. For future emergency situations, please know that we are doing everything possible to keep your children safe. Please refrain from calling the office, and please wait patiently for either an email, a phone message, or a text from our emergency communication system.”
Before 9 a.m., police had secured the district’s sites in Gunnison and the schools’ status was changed to lockout. That remained in place until police found the suspect and established there was no longer a threat. The lockouts were lifted before 9:30 a.m.