Inset: Kayla Canler (Warren County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Kentucky area where the daycare is located (Google Maps).
A Kentucky daycare worker has been accused of sending messages threatening to “shoot up” the facility where she was employed and warning that “No one is safe,” allegedly in an attempt to force a lockdown that would keep her and the children indoors during a recent heat wave.
Kayla Mae Canler, 27, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree terroristic threatening and one count of making a false report that generates an emergency response, according to records.
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that deputies were called Aug. 13 after violent threats were reported against a daycare on Plano Road in Bowling Green. At first, investigators were told a former employee or her spouse could be involved, prompting deputies to secure the facility before finding the couple nearby.
Both of the “believed suspects” agreed to speak with investigators, while deputies also filed emergency requests seeking access to the pair’s social media and email information. After several hours of interviews, however, the former employee and her husband were released.
A second threat was reported the next day at Bluegrass Farms Learning Center and Bluegrass Farms Christian Academy. Deputies once again secured the facilities as detectives worked to determine who was behind the messages.
Authorities later tracked the threats to a cellphone and IP address at one of the daycare locations. As detectives began interviewing employees, Canler allegedly admitted she had sent the messages.
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A probable cause affidavit obtained by the Bowling Green Daily News quoted one of the threats as saying: “I will be here all day I see yall blocking off everything NO ONE IS SAFE. Better get all the kids out of the building now it’s not over I didn’t get in trouble yesterday so with that being said.”
Canler allegedly explained that she had sent the threats because she did not want to be outside with the children in the summer heat. The temperature in Bowling Green on Aug. 13 and 14 reached the high 90s.
“Kayla provided information pertaining to the messages and her motive for sending the messages,” the affidavit reportedly said. “She stated she did not want to be outside in the heat with the children and knew the messages would trigger a lockdown and they would remain inside.”
Canler was taken to the Warren County Regional Jail, where she was being held on $5,000 cash bond.
She later waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Warren District Court, sending the case to a grand jury to consider an indictment.
The sheriff’s office also criticized local citizens who had posted photographs of the “believed suspects” online and demanded they be brought to justice before investigators finished determining who they say was actually responsible for the threats.
“Unfortunately, many social media platforms shared pictures of the ‘suspected’ couple,” the office said. “In addition, there were many, many very negative comments and people drawing conclusions and demanding we arrest these individuals or the ‘people’s justice’ would be served. As an investigative agency, it is imperative that we ensure a thorough process. Ugly comments do not change or improve our team’s mission.”
The post Employee threatened daycare to trigger lockdown and ‘remain inside’ during heat wave: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
