Teen Issues Social Media Threat Targeting Multiple Schools Across Several Parishes

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – A wave of online school threats against numerous Louisiana schools has many parents concerned about their child’s safety, but the parents we spoke with also said that living under danger is an unfortunate part of having a child in school today’s environment.

“You become numb, but I believe it’s…”I hate to say it’s part of life, but as society and people grow, you can’t get rid of crazy,” said a parent of a St. Joseph’s Academy student.

According to law enforcement, the threat that appeared on social media is based on an image that has been disseminated nationwide. Livingston Parish deputies say a 13-year-old updated the caption to threaten multiple schools throughout various parishes. The adolescent has been arrested and charged with terrorism.

“He added some of his personal touch to it by saying things like he was going to shoot up a school, he was going to listen to people screaming, and yelling, He got a little graphic, and I don’t want to share too much of it, but those things are not only concerning, but they’re very, very serious,” Jason Ard, the Sheriff of Livingston Parish, explained.

According to Louisiana State Police and other local agencies, none of the threats in the state have been credible, but any threat must be treated as real.

“They think it’s funny, I’m going to cause a little bomb threat and stuff like that and that’s the mentality, in reality, this is serious, we take it very seriously,” says Sheriff Ard.

Sheriff Ard says the kids usually don’t think they’ll get in trouble, but this isn’t the case.

“You think it’s funny, but you’re going to end up in a detention center charged, and to possibly get time in jail for this, you’re going to get expelled from school… this is not a game anymore,” said Deputy Ard.

The Sheriff also says that everyone must work together to stop the spread of this post and that parents should make sure their children understand that any threat has actual consequences.

“They see all of this, and they don’t know if it’s true or not, so they say, ‘I’m not going to send my kids to school, and I’m going to share it with my friends,’ and no one shares it with us, but we get it sometimes. “It’s already complete chaos,” said Sheriff Ard.

As a parent, the Sheriff understands how difficult it is to feel protected, even if the threats are not real.

“The number one thing is the safety of our kids, our school system, and our faculty, we have to take this seriously and we will and we have been and will continue to do that,” says Sheriff Ard.

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