Teen Girls Arrested for School Threats Inspired by ‘Pretty Little Liars’

A 15-year-old student was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and a 14-year-old student was charged with felony inducing panic.
Published: December 5, 2017

An Ohio high school was placed on lockdown after two female students made threats similar to those made on the fictional TV show “Pretty Little Liars”, which is popular among teens and young adults.

Piqua police say two girls, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and charged in Miami County Juvenile Court for making threats that forced an early dismissal last Thursday and the cancellation of classes on Friday at Piqua High School, according to TIME.

The 15-year-old student created a Snapchat account with the username “A” and made threats to uncover classmates’ secrets, prompting rumors of a school shooting.

Pretty Little Liars, which is based on a popular book series, is about four teens who begin to receive threatening messages from a mysterious person named “A” after one of their friends goes missing.

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False rumors of the threat of a school shooting circulated last Wednesday after the Snapchat posts were widely seen. Piqua Police Chief Bruce Jamison says no school shooting threat was made on the account by the 15-year-old.

Following the discovering of the threats, parents were notified but there was no disruption to classes. Additional officers were assigned to the school on Thursday and the district superintendent was also present in anticipation of increased anxiety.

On Thursday, the social media posts prompted a 14-year-old student to write “I’m still going to shoot up the school — A” on a bathroom mirror. Police say there is no evidence of collaboration between the two students, reports the Dayton Daily.

Around the same time the message was discovered, Jamison says two students reported that “the shooting” would happen around noon.

The school was placed on lockdown and parents were notified of an early dismissal.

Jamison says the school remained closed on Friday because more rumors would likely spread as police continued to conduct an investigation.

A second non-threatening message was left on another mirror in a girl’s bathroom on Thursday as well, but police have not released the message’s content.

The 15-year-old has been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and the 14-year-old has been charged with felony inducing panic.

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