For him it was all just a prank: Virginia man accused of threatening to shoot Mexican and Black students at a Stafford elementary school is convicted

A man who last year threatened to shoot students at an elementary school in Stafford as part of a series of jokes was found guilty on Monday of two charges.

James Wayne Hash II, who lives in Fredericksburg and is 34 years old, pleaded guilty in Stafford Circuit Court to felony counts of threatening to bomb and trying to do something terroristic. On April 17, he will get his sentence in Stafford.

Hash is also being charged in Fredericksburg for allegedly calling many homes and businesses with fake 911 calls. Next month, there will be a court case in the city.

Court records show that on September 7, Hash called 911 with a prerecorded message. This caused Conway Elementary School in southern Stafford to lock down. The message said that the school had to be evacuated within 15 minutes or “I will shoot one Mexican or Black child for every minute that passes.”

He sent a second message that said, “I told you to leave, but you didn’t,” and a third message that said a gunman was at the school and wanted to hurt students.

Police found that at least two of the calls came from cell phones that were not connected to any company. Spotsylvania Towne Center was given a bomb threat on one of the same phones. Police were able to get in touch with the person who used to own one of the phones, who told them it had been lost.

Court records show that the same number called Conway again on September 9 and made another threat. Because of this, school events for the rest of the day were canceled.

Police were able to find Hash after a thorough investigation showed that his car had been in the same areas where multiple 911 calls had been made. Hash later admitted to making many prank calls, and court records say the phone he used to make the calls was found in his hotel room.

Hash told the police that he chose the school in Stafford because a family member works there. The relative had nothing to do with what happened. He said that he made the calls because he felt “empty and down.”