Blackwell Police arrest 16-year-old after threatening message
Ponca City Now - September 5, 2018 11:21 am
About 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4, Blackwell Police received a report of a possible threatening message that had been posted on the social media platform Snap-Chat.
The post was a picture of an AR-15 style rifle with “Don’t come to school tomorrow”.
Blackwell Police were able to identify and locate the person responsible for the message, a 16-year-old student at Blackwell High School. At about 10:10 p.m., Blackwell Police took the 16 year old juvenile male into custody and transported him to the Blackwell Police Department.
Investigators spoke to the juvenile, who admitted to making the post and then taking it down after a few minutes. Investigators found that the juvenile took the picture from the Internet and does not own or have access to the weapon.
The juvenile was transported to a juvenile detention facility, where he is expected to be charged with a terrorism hoax.
In the aftermath of recent tragic school shootings, there has been an increase in the number of hoax threats to schools and public locations around the country.
There are serious consequences that go along with making these types of threats, the Blackwell Police Department posted on its Facebook page.
“They’re not funny, and the Blackwell Police Department is going to take them very seriously,” the post said. “With a thoughtless remark on social media, young people risk starting out their adult lives in prison and forever being labeled a felon. The Blackwell Police Department would like to remind everyone to always think before you post.”
