LANCASTER, Ohio — A Fairfield County mother claims that her 12-year-old son is innocent after he was arrested for an alleged bomb threat made to his junior high school on Friday. He was in court Monday morning.
His mother said she is upset he spent a weekend in detention.
According to the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office, deputies were notified about the alleged bomb threat at Thomas Ewing Junior High in Lancaster on Friday.
After a joint investigation between the sheriff's office and the Lancaster City School District administration, they referred the case to the Fairfield County Prosecutor's office.
The boy was arrested on charges of inducing panic. 10TV is not naming the boy because he is a minor.
According to an incident report, deputies searched the boy and did not find any bombs. He was secured and the sheriff's office said they did not place the school on lockdown because there was no threat.
According to an incident report, the boy was making beeping noises to imitate a bomb and was alleged to have said “Allah Akbar.”
In court, the boy entered a denial and was released to his mother.
His mother says he is innocent and that there is no evidence against him and that he should not have been held.
“I believe they need to develop a better strategy. There were different steps and measures they were supposed to take when a child came to them with an allegation. They can't just arrest children over allegations, they need to have evidence. It needs to be looked into,” the mom said.
The boy will be back in court next month.