COLUMBUS, Ohio — Whitehall police arrested a 16-year-old after the FBI discovered they had made a social media post threatening multiple Columbus schools.
According to Whitehall police, the teen posted a threat on Instagram showing guns and alluding to carrying out shootings in multiple schools.
“The widespread panic that instances like this cause in the whole community are concerning. Allegations like this deploy and waste our community resources even when they are untrue,” a prosecutor said in court on Friday.
According to the prosecutor representing the state, the teen made threats to five different schools including Westland High School, Eastland High School, Eastmoor High School, Briggs High School and Westmoor Middle School.
Parents from the district voiced their concerns about school safety.
“If you are inducing panic, threats and harm and saying there’s going to be harm and there’s not going to be harm then you should be charged whether you are a juvenile,” said parent Sarah McGowan.
McGowan said times have changed since she went to school.
“We fear every day sending our kids to school and I don’t want to fear that anymore,” she said.
While the threat was deemed not credible, the teen was arrested for swatting.
In the state of Ohio, swatting is a fourth-degree felony.
The level of penalty for school threats is decided on a case-by-case basis, dependent on the seriousness of the threat and based on the law enforcement investigation and the prosecuting attorney.
The Educator’s School Safety Network said when it comes to school threats, sentencing juveniles is a difficult task but prosecutors say these threats are extremely dangerous for a community.
The teen is scheduled to have a competency hearing on Sept. 23.
Columbus City Schools sent the following statement to 10TV when asked about the threat:
“For the safety and privacy of all involved, we will not be commenting on any ongoing investigations or legal matters. We continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”