Judge orders no guns allowed in Vermont home of St. Olaf college student accused of planning "mass casualty event"

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- A St. Olaf college student who was charged after a cache of ammunition was found in his dorm room could soon be released to his home in Vermont.

Waylon Kurts was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit threats of violence, among other counts. The Rice County Attorney's Office argued that he was planning a "mass casualty event." 

Charging documents say that on April 5, St. Olaf officials found a tactical vest, ammunition, a tactical knife, fireworks, and rifle magazine carriers in his dorm room, among other items. A custodial worker had alerted school officials after they found empty packages for high capacity magazines in a garbage can outside the dorm rooms.

Kurts had also drawn a map of the recreational facility on campus, as well as a plan to steal ammunition from Walmart, the documents say.

The 20-year-old, who was on the track team, was suspended from school and arrested a day later in Edina.

When contacted by Northfield police, Kurts' family allegedly said that all of his guns were in their Vermont home, and that he was not shooting in Minnesota. However, a shooting range and gun shop in Burnsville told police that Kurts had visited "several times to shoot."

Rice County Attorney Kathryn Burbank recently voiced concerns that there are firearms - including an assault rifle - at Kurts' family home in Middlesex, and asked the court rule his family surrender them should he be relocated there.

At a hearing on Friday, the court ordered that an affidavit be signed for each firearm owned by anyone in Kurts' family home. The affidavit should contain the serial number of the firearm, the name of the person who owns it, name and address of the person currently in possession of the gun, and a sworn statement not to return the firearm to anyone residing in the home.

Kurts is still in custody.