Several Students Arrested for School Shooting Threats in Past Week
Most of the school shooting threats were made on popular social media apps.
In the last week alone, at least four students have been arrested for allegedly threatening to carry out school shootings.
In Louisiana, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated several threats made between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2 that referenced a shooting at Lake Charles College Prep, reports KATC. Detectives interviewed a 14-year-old LCCP student who admitted she was responsible for one of the threats.
During the investigation, detectives were able to trace an IP address back to the student’s home address. She was arrested on a charge of terrorizing and booked into the Juvenile Detention Center. An investigation into the remaining threats against LCCP is ongoing and CPSO says more arrests and charges are possible.
Since January, Sheriff Tony Mancuso said his department has investigated seven threats of violence against schools.
In Lake County, Fla., a 13-year-old Umatilla Middle School student has been charged with a felony after making a threat on social media to carry out a shooting at the school, according to WFTV.
On Wednesday, school administrators told the school resource officer (SRO) about the threatening post circulating on Snapchat. The poster said they would be “shooting up” the school Wednesday and referenced being expelled for “selling nic.” It was later determined that the student had gotten in trouble earlier in the day for selling nicotine vapes to students.
After being questioned by deputies, the student wrote a statement admitting she made and sent the post while on the bus Wednesday because she was upset. The student was arrested on one count of written threats to do violence.
In Texas, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a threat regarding a shooting at Jarrell High School on Tuesday. Two students were identified as being responsible for the threat. WCSO says charges are still being considered, according to CBS Austin.
In Georgia, shooting threats were also posted on Snapchat against Cedar Shoals High School, reports Athens Banner-Herald. The threats began circulating on other social media platforms, prompting several students and parents to notify Athens-Clarke police.
A 16-year-old student from the school was taken into custody Sunday on a felony terroristic threat charge. The Clarke County School District sent out an email to parents Monday notifying them of the threats and indicating the school would be putting additional security measures in place, including increased officer presence.
Also in Georgia, Newnan police arrested a student they say left two voicemail messages at Newnan High School with threats of “shooting up” and “blowing up” the campus, according to Fox 5.
“As a precaution, Newnan High School and the Central Education Center, along with Cougar Village, was placed in a Code Yellow status,” Newnan Police said. Authorities searched the campus and said no devices or other credible threats were found. The school was cleared by late morning to return to normal operations with extra police presence.
Officials believe the calls were made as part of an online prank challenge. Although specifics of the referenced challenge have not been provided by officials, the social media app TikTok has made recent headlines for the circulation of the “devious licks” challenge — a schedule of monthly challenges that encourage students to engage in various forms of bad behavior throughout the school year.
Fox reports there have been a series of school threats made across the metro-Atlanta area in the past month. Last week, five students in Gwinnett County were arrested in connection to threats made on various campuses.
Additional school shooting threats were made on social media this week with no arrests. In Rockford, Ill., there were three threats in just two days — one against Rockford University and two against Jefferson High School.
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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