Police arrest man who brought weapons, threats to Folsom High School
Athletic coaches first spotted the armed Folsom man who was arrested at Folsom High School on Wednesday after allegedly assessing potential “sniper points” on the campus while student-athletes practiced on the grounds, police dispatch audio revealed.
Curt Michael Taras, 53, was taken into custody just after 7 p.m. on the campus on the 1600 block of Iron Point Road. Folsom police said in a statement they quickly located and arrested Taras, who was found carrying a knife. A subsequent search of his vehicle uncovered an unspecified firearm and a high-capacity magazine.
Taras is being held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail and was scheduled to appear Monday in Sacramento Superior Court.
The school’s basketball and football teams were conducting practices when a Folsom High basketball coach spotted the man, later identified as Taras, in a parking lot on the Prairie City Road side of the campus, according to dispatch audio reviewed by The Sacramento Bee.
Folsom police dispatchers received the first calls from the school just after 6:30 p.m. for “a male that is seen on the campus talking about some kind of ‘sniper points’ at the school,” a dispatcher told officers, according to the audio recording.
Arriving officers advised coaches at the outdoor athletic fields. Soon after, the school’s principal and another Folsom officer again spotted the man by a nearby parking lot before his arrest, according to dispatchers’ audio.
Folsom High School officials told parents in a letter after the incident, first reported by the Folsom Times, that school basketball coaches were the first to see and confront Taras before calling police. The student-athletes were locked down in campus facilities until receiving the all-clear from authorities, the Times reported.
Taras faces multiple felony charges, including making criminal threats, possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, possessing a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, and bringing a knife onto school grounds. He also faces misdemeanor counts of possessing a high-capacity magazine and violating a court order.
Department officials credited quick thinking from those on campus for the arrest.
“We want to thank the individuals who recognized the seriousness of the situation and promptly reported it,” Folsom police said. “Their quick action helped officers locate and detain the suspect and ensure everyone on campus was safe.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 8:43 AM.
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