Editor's Note: Charges against Ian Fotheringham were dropped on 9/25/25.

Ian Fotheringham, the 18-year-old accused of threatening a school shooting in Falmouth, Massachusetts, was released from jail Wednesday, infuriating several parents.

Fotheringham posted the $2,500 bail ordered by a judge at a dangerousness hearing Tuesday in Barnstable District Court. He's also required to wear a GPS monitoring device and must not leave his home.

A group of mothers of Falmouth students were in court Tuesday hoping the Cape & Islands District Attorney's office would be able to convince the judge to keep Fotheringham held without bail. He was arrested September 11 and was charged with threatening to use a deadly weapon in a public building.

The judge ruled that charge doesn't fall under the dangerousness statute in Massachusetts, so Fotheringham had to be allowed to post bail. He was held without bail for five days until Tuesday's hearing. The district attorney had requested $250,000 cash bail.

"While the family can understand the concern of the public, the allegations against my client (are) based on speculation and conjecture. The family has done everything they can to help this young man and will continue to do so. The public should not be concerned. I trust that he will be found not guilty at trial," Fotheringham's attorney, Krysten Condon, said in a statement.

Accused of plotting school shooting

Last month, according to court documents, mental health counselors told investigators Fotheringham "indicated he wanted to shoot up a school" and claimed he was refurbishing guns in his room. Falmouth police searched the room and found no illegal weapons.

On September 3, safety monitors told police they saw Fotheringham in the woods behind Teaticket Elementary School in Falmouth and were worried he was casing the building. Condon refuted that and said the description of the person involved did not match Fotheringham.

Police got a search warrant for his entire home and said they found photos and a journal referencing the Columbine High School murders, plus a large 3D printer capable of making a gun.

In October of 2024, Fotheringham also made threats against Falmouth High School, where he was once a student, according to police.

Students' parents outraged

"He turned around and laughed at us when he got his decision, he doesn't care. He's not afraid of what's going to happen. We're afraid because those are our kids. Those are our babies and we can't go to school with them every day," Falmouth parent Dianna Wilson told WBZ-TV Tuesday.

Condon said her client suffers from mental health issues and that he has a fatal disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

In a letter to staff and families Tuesday night, Superintendent Lori Duerr said Falmouth Police will provide detail officers at all four elementary schools, in addition to the school resource officers, for "at least the next two weeks."

Why was he released?

"From a factual standpoint, this particular charge, these particular circumstances don't fall under the dangerousness statute that would have allowed the judge to hold him," said WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman. She said because the charge is a misdemeanor, there's not much more the judge could do, despite the DA requesting bail be set 100 times higher.

"The person who allegedly has a history of mental health challenges, has a medical condition that prevents him from driving. It starts to narrow the risk to the community from a factual basis," said Roman.