A 12-year-old student faces felony charges after allegedly posting threats of violence on social media against several Washoe County schools. The Washoe County School District Police Department arrested the juvenile on Sept. 8 for uploading two Instagram posts featuring photos of weapons and tagging multiple schools with threats of a shooting or other violence.
“Any threats to our students, staff, and schools are taken seriously, and will not be tolerated,” said WCSD Deputy Police Chief Seana Baker. “Making threats is illegal, and we will enforce the law to the fullest extent possible.”
Authorities said they launched an investigation immediately after receiving information about the posts on Sept. 7. The FBI collaborated in the probe.
The student was arrested without incident and charged with two counts of “Making Threats or Conveying False Information Concerning Acts of Terrorism,” resulting in two felony charges.
The original social media posts were widely shared, and copycat posts emerged. Hundreds of reports about the posts flooded public safety agencies. Officials said there are no ongoing threats to the schools mentioned in the posts.
The suspect is not being named due to being a juvenile.
Source: WCSD
