Teen arrested after threatening to ‘shoot up’ Cape Cod school

An 18-year-old from Cape Cod is facing charges after he allegedly threatened to “shoot up a school” last month and showed up at an elementary school, officials said.

Ian Fotheringham, of Falmouth, is charged with threatened use of a deadly weapon in a public building, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois announced Friday. He pleaded not guilty in court and was held without bail pending a dangerous hearing.

In late August, Fotheringham was reported to police after he “indicated that he wanted to shoot up a school,” the DA alleged. “Mr. Fotheringham did not specify what school.” 

Fotheringham also allegedly said he was refurbishing firearms, but no illegal firearms were found after Falmouth police searched his home, the DA said.

During their search, police allegedly found photos of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting on his phone, as well as a large 3D printer capable of producing a firearm, according to prosecutors and court records.

The allegations came after Falmouth Public Schools had requested a no trespass order for Fotheringham for all school buildings when a mental health provider reported that he had allegedly made concerning statements during his time at an inpatient program, according to court records.

Along with the statements about having weapons and wanting to “shoot up a school,” Fotheringham allegedly indicated that he was in a white supremacy group, that he wanted “to shave his head, get a trench coat, boots, and ‘play the part,’” and had sexually violent images in his notebook, the records said.

Fotheringham has also taken antique firearm making classes, the high school told police, according to court records.

Court records: School security confronted Fotheringham outside elementary school

Fotheringham was also identified as the “suspicious male” who was allegedly walking in the woods near a playground at the back of a Falmouth School Sept. 3, the DA said. 

“Based on their interactions with the male,” later identified as Fotheringham, “school safety monitors were very concerned that this male was ‘casing’ the school,” Galibois’s office said.

According to court records, the school was Teaticket Elementary School. Falmouth Public School Superintendent Lori Duerr did not reply to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.

Fotheringham, a former student at Falmouth High School, had allegedly previously made similar threats when he was a student, court documents said. In 2024, a doctor said Fotheringham was “going to kill people and then himself” because he “wants to be remembered.”

Massachusetts State Police troopers and Falmouth police then arrested Fotheringham last Thursday before he appeared in court Friday.

“District Attorney Galibois would like to highlight the strength of collaboration between our local and state law enforcement partners. Because of their swift, coordinated response and shared commitment to public safety, a potential tragedy was prevented,” the DA’s office said.

Fotheringham’s lawyer, Krysten Condon, did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday evening.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.