Man threatens to kill family, no weapons found

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on July 31, 2019

Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland and Chief John Viola of the Haverford Township Police Department announced that Frank Wang, 20, has been arrested and charged with terroristic threats after threatening to kill his family and “shoot up” the Haverford College campus.

Wang, of the unit block of Elan Lane, in the Wayne section of Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, is currently incarcerated at the George W. Hill Correctional facility, and is charged with terroristic threats, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Wang was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Robert Burke who set bail at 10 percent of $1,000,000 along with other conditions, including a risk assessment. The investigation was conducted by Detective Jere Goodman, Sergeant Christopher Chambers, and Officer McGowan of the Haverford Township Police Department, with assistance from the Haverford College Public Safety Department, and officers from the Tredyffrin Township Police Department.

On July 26, Sergeant Chambers of the Haverford Township Police Department received information that Wang, who used to be a student at Haverford College, had confided in another that he had thoughts about killing his parents and plotting to “shoot up” the Haverford College campus. An investigation into these threats was immediately launched. Wang was located and a search warrant was executed at his residence. During execution of the search warrant, investigators found no firearms or weapons. Investigators recovered a cell phone, a computer, and several flash drives. These devices were submitted to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division Cyber Crimes Unit for forensic analysis.

Chief John Viola of the Haverford Township Police said, “As a result of the outstanding cooperation between our department, Haverford College, and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, we were able to arrest and apprehend this defendant and keep our residents safe.”

“We take all threats to our schools very seriously and will prosecute those who threaten the safety of our schools to the fullest extent of the law,” said Copeland. “We constantly work in cooperation with our schools and law enforcement to ensure we provide a safe and protected environment for our students, teachers, and administrators. As the result of the swift response of the community, and the exceptional investigative efforts of the Haverford Township Police Department and the Haverford College Public Safety Department, no one was harmed and Mr. Wang is now rightfully facing the severe consequences of his actions.”