PHOENIX, AZ – A juvenile boy was apprehended by the Phoenix police for allegedly making threats of a mass shooting on social media aimed at 12 local schools. The teen was arrested on September 19, following the reports of the threats to the Phoenix police officers five days prior.
In response to the posted threats, the affected schools reported about 6,000 student absences. The teenager supposedly confessed to creating the online threats as a result of a dare from a group of peers. The suspect who threatened the shooting now faces multiple felony charges, including computer tampering and making terroristic threats, according to the police.
Phoenix police reinforced their commitment to public safety, urging the public to report any form of threat immediately and refrain from sharing or reposting such information on social media platforms. They further stated in a news release, “Reposting these threats complicates the totality of a criminal investigation and can cause misinformation to be spread throughout social media.”
The Phoenix police stressed the severity of such activities as they are treated as zero tolerance issues, truly highlighting the gravity of such acts as even the perceived threats will result in arrests and serious felony charges for everyone implicated.
The Phoenix police also alerted that any person convicted of making terroristic threats will potentially be confronted with financial liability for the costs arising from the situation and the subsequent investigations.