Mount Vernon teen arrested after Facebook school threat
Sep 5, 2012, 1:21 PM | Updated: 3:42 pm
Police say a 16-year-old boy was arrested after allegedly writing threats of a school shooting on his Facebook profile. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
Mount Vernon Police believe they may have prevented the “unimaginable” from taking place on the first day of school.
Police say a 16-year-old boy was arrested after allegedly writing threats of a school shooting on his Facebook profile.
Mt. Vernon PD Lt. Chris Cammock said the posts referenced a “Columbine-style” attack, and that he had put out some kind of warning about not going the first day of school.
Police say commenters replied to the threats, saying they were not funny, but the teen allegedly said he wasn’t kidding and that drugs were affecting his brain.
Some teenagers who saw the status update contacted the boy and said that what they assumed were jokes were in poor humor.
According to Cammock, the boy replied to the teens and said, ‘Who said I was joking?’
The teens alerted adults, who in turn contacted police about the threats.
“We’ve had contact with him (the boy) previously, and in those contacts there have been some anger issues and some emotional issues,” explained Cammaock.
Police arrested the teen Saturday.
The boy is not enrolled at a Mount Vernon school.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
