As part of their investigation into more than 300 reports of possible school shooting threats on social media, Buckeye police say they arrested two teenagers this week.
Sgt. Zachary Astrup says after they received a tip from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center, authorities arrested a 13-year-old girl for posting some of the threats.
“Detectives were able to locate the exact house it came from and, through the course of their investigation, determine who made the threat,” said Astrup.
Police say a 17-year-old boy was arrested separately for texting another student that he’d seen a gun in a Buckeye Union High School bathroom.
The messages sparked widespread panic on social media, but Astrup said: “That was a false report and there had been no gun seen on the high school campus.”
Tracking down and verifying posts like this, he added, can be especially tricky with how fast information can move online.
“Our big thing has been getting our detectives, our school resource officers, and our patrol officers all working together to provide additional patrols to the school to help alleviate some of the concern while continuing the investigation,” said Astrup.
In this case, Astrup said they were able to trace misinformation or threats back to each teen. The investigation is still ongoing.
