Falmouth Teen Charged Over Alleged School Shooting Threat

UPDATE (9/25/2025): The charges against Fotheringham have been dropped.

FALMOUTH (WBSM) — An 18-year-old has been arraigned on charges related to alleged threats to conduct a school shooting.

In a joint release, Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois and Falmouth Police Chief Jeff Lourie announced that Ian Fotheringham, 18, of Falmouth was arraigned on criminal charges “for his role in making threats about conducting a school shooting.”

Alleged Threats and Police Response

Last month, Falmouth Police received information that an individual named Ian Fotheringham was allegedly indicating that he wanted to shoot up a school, although he did not specify which school. He also allegedly stated that he was refurbishing firearms in his room.

Falmouth Police conducted a consent search of Fotheringham’s home but did not find any illegal firearms.

In early September, school safety monitors reported a suspicious male walking in the woods behind a Falmouth Public School. They told police they believed he was “casing” the school. Police later identified Fotheringham as that person. They did not say at which school it allegedly occurred.

Searches and Evidence Found

The release also stated that photos of the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School shooting were found in Fotheringham’s phone, and that a warrant search of his home turned up a “large 3D printer capable of producing a firearm.”

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Arrest and Court Proceedings

Fotheringham was taken into custody on September 11 at about 12:30 p.m. by Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the D.A.’s Office and Falmouth Police. He was arraigned today in Barnstable District Court on a charge of threatened use of a deadly weapon in a public building.

Fotheringham was ordered held until a dangerousness hearing set for Tuesday, September 16. The case remains under investigation.

Coordination Between Agencies

In the release, Galibois stated that because of the “swift and coordinated response” between local and state law enforcement, “a potential tragedy was prevented.”