20-Year-Old College Student Charged For Allegedly Planning 'Mass Casualty Event'

A 20-year-old student from a private college in southeastern Minnesota is facing multiple charges after authorities found several items in his dorm that are believed to pose a threat to his school.

Rice County District Court in Minnesota charged Waylon Kurts Monday with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit threats of violence, terroristic threats and conspiracy to commit theft, according to court documents accessed by VT Digger.

Prosecutors alleged that Kurts was planning to carry out a "mass casualty event" at St. Olaf College in Northfield after items like a tactical vest, a folding knife, firearm earmuffs, six propane canisters, fireworks, lighter fluid and empty boxes for ammunition and magazines were found in Kurts' dorm room, CBS News reported.

St. Olaf campus police also seized several notebooks with writings including police radio frequencies, a plan to steal ammunition from a retailer and a hand-drawn map of the recreational facility on campus, charges said, as per Star Tribune.

In addition to these items, police also searched through his phone and found texts to someone about buying guns from unlicensed sellers, a criminal complaint reportedly indicated.

Kurts was arrested Thursday in the Twin Cities on suspicion of threats of violence after a custodian at St. Olaf College discovered empty boxes of high-capacity magazines in the garbage outside the college dorm, the New York Post reported.

Kurts' attorney, Paul Rogosheske, claimed that his client was a hunter who shot a lot, according to the outlet. He added that while the student "has some things that look funny," there was no threat to anyone.

The attorney noted that no guns or ammunition were seized from the student's room and vehicle.

"I don't think you have a potential school shooter that was going to go in and shoot somebody — shoot a bunch of students. There's no evidence of any argument with anybody. There is no evidence of any animosity among any of the students," he said, as per VT Digger.

Kurts also told campus police that he was a "gun enthusiast" and that he kept the ammunition and the magazine off-campus at a gun range, the outlet reported. However, when Northfield police spoke with the gun range staff, they said the facility didn't store firearms or ammunition.

Kurts' family further told the Northfield police that his guns were kept in their Vermont home and he wasn't shooting in Minnesota.

Authorities are working on determining what Kurts was planning with the items discovered in his room, according to Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting Northfield police in the investigation.

Kurts is currently held at the Rice County Jail in Vermont on a $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on April 21.