Upset that the county’s Children and Youth Services took protective custody of one of her children, Kimberly A. McCray called the department’s downtown office at 33 W. Third St. about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday and told an employee that she was “going to get a gun and shoot up the building” before hanging up, city police alleged in an affidavit. The employee then called McCray back, police said. “I’m not mad at you, but they’re going to pay for taking my kid,” the mother told the employee, it was stated in the court document.

McCray, 32, of 1035 ½ Memorial Ave., is also alleged to have sent “several threatening text messages” to an employee’s cellphone, police said, adding that “the messages were specific as to which employees she had an issue with,” the affidavit stated. Due to these threats, at least a dozen Children and Youth Services employees were sent home for the day, and the building was “placed on lockdown” for an unspecified amount of time, police said. As a precautionary measure, several sheriff deputies surrounded the building as well, police said.

Charged with making threats to a public servant in an attempt to influence their decision, a felony; as well as terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and harassment, McCray was arraigned before District Judge Kirsten Gardner and committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.