A North Habersham Middle School student has been arrested and charged for posting a school threat on social media. The school system and police department investigated the threat Monday morning, September 9.
According to Habersham County School Police Chief Murray Kogod, police investigated to determine if the juvenile posed any threat to the school or other students. He says the investigation confirmed that the student did make a post but that the student’s actions “did not constitute a credible threat.”
Kogod says the juvenile was charged and turned over to the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice at the Regional Youth Detention Center in Gainesville.
“Students who choose to use social media to invoke fear will be dealt with swiftly and with intention,” warns Kogod. He says the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating every social media post like this one and charging accordingly.
“The Habersham Schools Police Department is following suit and will take this same firm stance in every instance,” he says.
Latest in series of online threats, arrests
Also, on Monday, September 9, Stephens County investigators arrested and charged a Stephens County juvenile with making online threats. In that case, too, investigators determined the threat was ‘not credible.’ That student was also transported to the Regional Youth Detention Center in Gainesville.
Since the September 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, more than a dozen Georgia students have been arrested for making online school threats.
According to the FBI, the public safety community is responding to an increase in school threat reporting following the Apalachee shooting. The Bureau says specific threats will continue to be investigated and “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“School safety hotlines and law enforcement often see increased reporting following a mass shooting incident, as students and the public are more apt to report suspicious activity or concerns,” the FBI said in a recent news release. However, the Bureau urges the public not to repost these online threats because they can “cause undue panic and spread false information.”
The FBI says that to date, the majority of investigations into threats posted online since the Apalachee shooting have been deemed non-credible. If you see or hear a threat, report it to local law enforcement immediately. Notify authorities, but don’t share or forward the threat until law enforcement has had a chance to investigate.
