On Monday, April 3, Bolivar R-1 Schools announced that the district had entered a Level 2 lockdown, preventing outside access into school buildings while the Bolivar Police Department investigated alleged comments made by a man at the Bolivar Walmart.
According to online court records, Bryndon T. Lampe, 23, of Bolivar, was charged with class D felony first-degree terrorist threat.
The probable cause statement said that Bolivar police officers responded to the Bolivar Walmart in reference to a threat after Lampe had allegedly told a Walmart employee that he (Lampe) would make “Nashville look like child’s play.”
Lampe’s comments were made “in regard to the recent school shooting in Nashville with the purpose of frightening Walmart and its employees by knowingly communicating and expressing an implied threat to cause an incident or condition involving danger to life,” the statement said.
At 11:45 a.m., officers responded to the 800 block of West Freeman in Bolivar to make contact with Lampe. As the statement says, “Lampe opened the door with a semi-automatic handgun in his right hand.”
When officers instructed him to put down the gun, Lampe complied. He told officers that he was unsure of who was knocking on the door, which is why he held the firearm when he had opened the door.
As the probable cause statement said, Lampe told officers that he had been “mad at the Walmart employee for asking to see his receipt,” when he made the Nashville comment.
Lampe said that “he didn’t think anything would happen to him based on his comment,” and that “he did own two firearms, but was not planning to use them in any type of criminal incident.” The statement said that Lampe “knew what he said was inappropriate, and it could cause alarm.”
Due to his comment, Lampe was trespassed from Walmart, and the Bolivar police were immediately notified.
Lampe was taken into custody around 11:50 p.m. and transported to Polk County Jail.
He is currently held on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. Lampe is due in court for an initial appearance on Wednesday, April 12.
In a social media post about the incident, the Bolivar R-1 Schools expressed the district’s priority to maintain the safety of students and staff. Once Bolivar Schools were notified about Lampe’s comment, the district followed safety and security procedures to take precautionary measures during the police investigation.
