PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A teen boy has been arrested after police say he made threats against 12 Phoenix-area schools.
On Thursday, Sept. 12, Phoenix police were notified of a mass shooting threat posted on social media involving a dozen Valley schools. Detectives were assigned, and the schools named in the threat were notified.
Due to the threat, police say there were approximately 6,000 student absences across the 12 schools in the following days. The names of the schools were not released.
Detectives later identified the suspect and arrested a teenage boy on Thursday. Police say the boy admitted to making the threat because of a dare by others.
The teen, whose name has not been released, was booked on charges including terroristic threats and computer tampering.
“This scenario is also a reminder that this is a zero-tolerance issue, and everyone involved will be arrested and booked into jail on serious felony charges,” Phoenix police said in an emailed news release. “It should also be understood that anyone convicted of the charge of Making a Terroristic Threat can be held financially responsible for the costs related to the incident and investigation.”
Residents who see similar threats posted online are reminded to contact police and school staff and to avoid reposting the messages.
“Reposting these threats complicates the totality of a criminal investigation and can cause misinformation to be spread throughout social media,” police said.
The arrest comes during a wave of non-credible threats that have been made against schools nationwide this month.
Friday morning, Prescott Valley police were notified of a possible threat involving Liberty Traditional School. Officers found the teen who allegedly made the threat and took that student into custody. Police say there was no actual danger to the students or the school.
On Thursday, police announced that six juveniles had been arrested in connection with threats against schools in Mesa and Apache Junction.
Last week, two teens were arrested for alleged threats of school shootings in Buckeye.
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