Kyle Hendrickson sentenced for Portsmouth school shooting threat: Details here

CONCORD — Kyle Hendrickson was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in prison for a threatening to "shoot up" Portsmouth High School last year in a Snapchat video recorded on school grounds.

Hendrickson, 26, of Berwick, Maine, appeared in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire. He had pleaded guilty in November to charges of interstate threatening communications and possessing a firearm in a school zone, though he and his attorney argued he never intended to carry out a shooting.

Judge Samantha Elliott issued the sentence: 31 months for the threatening communications charge and 6 months for the firearm charge, to be served consecutively, with three years supervision following his release. The judge also recommended mental health and substance use programs while in prison.

Hendrickson spoke, offering his "deepest apologies" for his actions, adding, "It was never my intent to hurt anyone."

Jane Young, U.S. attorney for New Hampshire, said, "There's nothing joking about the defendant's conduct that day." She noted police, rescue personnel, federal agencies and more responded, school was canceled and "families were terrorized."

A restitution hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11 at 3 p.m.

The prosecution had asked for a four-year prison sentence, with three years of supervision. The defense, who argued Hendrickson never intended to actually carry out the shooting asked for a lesser sentence.

More: Portsmouth school shooting threat suspect argues for less prison time after prosecutors seek 4 years

Details of shooting threat at Portsmouth High School

On April 12, 2023, Hendrickson took a Snapchat video outside of Portsmouth High School brandishing a Smith & Wesson SD40 VE handgun, which he pointed at the passenger next to him. The video was taken with the Portsmouth High School sign in the background and a text overlay reading “imma gonna shoot up the school.” The day of his arrest, Hendrickson allegedly admitted to police in Portland, Maine, he had disposed of the gun seen in the video behind a hotel in Freeport, Maine.

Prosecutors had urged the court to “protect the public from further crimes of the defendant” and cited the emotional toll a manhunt to find Hendrickson following the threat had on the Portsmouth community.

Judge: 'You were 25, a grown man, not a kid'

While the guideline the court had for sentencing was for 33-41 months, US prosecutor Charles Rombeau asked the court to impose 48 months.

"There is no perfect sentence, but we believe this would be reasonable and just," said Rombeau. "This defendant, when arrested, had body armor, laser sight and ammunition. He fled afterward and discharged a firearm behind the hotel he and his fiancée stayed at. We found an additional firearm under a mattress in his Portland home. He had a significant arsenal. so, I think the gravity of the events is understated."

Hendrickson’s attorney, Murdoch Walker II, filed a sentencing memorandum indicating Hendrickson was dropping off his mother at the school on April 12, 2023, then filmed the video.

“While he did possess a firearm at the school property, the circumstances surrounding that moment, when read as a whole, suggest no intent to carry out a threat,” Hendrickson’s sentencing memorandum states. “Specifically, he stated that the video was nothing but a joke (although a terrible one), and that he would never carry out the threat since his relative attended that school.”

Walker argued a lighter sentence should be imposed partly because Hendrickson grew up with parents who battled substance abuse, and he faced the same challenges, beginning in his teenage years. Also he argued there was no intent to carry out the threat.

Judge Elliott disagreed.

"I deny both the upward and the downward variance sentencing requests," she said. "I believe the sentence I imposed is sufficient but not greater than necessary. This is an incredibly serious crime. Everyone is fearful of school shootings, you knew that. You live in this country. To see on social media someone outside of your school threatening to shoot it up is terrifying, and I think there is some evidence of intent."

To Walker's argument Hendrickson was a kid who made a bad decision, a joke, Elliott said, "You were 25, a grown man, not a kid. You were significantly older than the potential victims. It's not really a joke if everyone is terrified."

Hendrickson completed drug abuse treatment at the Strafford County jail last year, the motion adds. Attached to the sentencing memorandum are character statements on Hendrickson’s behalf, written by his mother, fiancée, friends and other relatives.

Snapchat notified the FBI about the video when it was posted, and the agency alerted Portsmouth police. The city police department and school district decided to close all Portsmouth schools on April 13 while Hendrickson was still at large. He was apprehended by authorities later that day in Portland.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for his 2014 Ford Explorer and said they seized an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, camouflage body armor, a handgun holster, a red-dot sight and several rounds of ammunition in the vehicle.

Hendrickson has remained in custody since his April 2023 arrest. His case has been prosecuted by Charles Rombeau, assistant U.S. attorney for New Hampshire.

Portsmouth police chief receives thanks, shares comment

Young thanked the FBI, the Portsmouth Police Department, the Portland Maine Police Department and other federal agencies involved in the investigation in a press release. The release included a statement from Portsmouth Police Chief Mark Newport, who thanked all the same agencies and offered a comment about Hendrickson.

“His careless actions victimized our community, causing school to be canceled until we could assure our community that there was no longer a threat, and the students could safely return to school," Newport said. "Our community and department have zero tolerance for such actions. We have used all available resources to bring forward the appropriate criminal charges to hold Mr. Hendrickson accountable for his actions.”

"The court sentence imposed is relevant," said Young. "It sends a strong message to others — we will seek out, find and prosecute cases and you will end up in federal prison for an extended period of time."

Reporting by Ian Lenahan is used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Kyle Hendrickson sentenced for Portsmouth school shooting threat: Details here