Police on Tuesday arrested a 13-year-old girl they say is behind threats of violence against a Riverside high school. The accusations come amid a series of social media threats against schools across the country that have alarmed authorities, parents and administrators.
Riverside police said an unidentified student attacked Chemawa Middle School in at least two social media posts Friday, including one that named his classmates, prompting many parents to send their children to school early.
Law enforcement officials have not revealed the nature of the threats or what social media platform they are on. But they said that when school security officials received a tip about the student’s identity over the weekend, police searched her home and determined she did not have access to a gun. Officers then arrested and detained the girl at the Riverside Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of making criminal threats against the school and students.
Dozens of similar incidents have been reported across the country in recent weeks since the Sept. 4 shooting at a high school in Winder, Georgia, that left four people, two students and two teachers, dead.
On Monday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 14-year-old Eastvale boy on suspicion of threatening students at Jurupa Valley High School.
On Sept. 11, police arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected of being behind a social media threat against Arlington High School in Riverside and its principal the day before.
In at least eight students According to local news, arrests have also been made recently for threats in Sacramento and other areas of Northern California.
Alerts about the threats prompted at least one law enforcement officer to take unusual action, especially since the child involved. In Volusia County, Florida, about 40 miles north of Orlando, an 11-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of making a written threat to carry out a mass shooting at a school, a felony, according to the county Sheriff’s Office. The department later posted a video on Facebook. a child with his hands handcuffed and includes your name.
Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said in a statement Tuesday that his department “will not tolerate any behavior that undermines the safety of our schools.”
Social media posts “must stop immediately so our children can focus on their studies,” Gonzalez said.
“Students who threaten school violence on social media or in other ways face criminal consequences and severe disciplinary action, including expulsion. We will not tolerate any behavior that undermines the safety of our schools.”
