Don't make any threats on social media or in any form. This will bring fear to a lot of people even if you did so as a joke.
A 15-year-old teen from California was arrested for his threats of attacks at schools in Southern California. He was taken by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station last Sunday on suspicion of death threats. The station received dozens of calls from concerned citizens who saw the disturbing posts.
The unnamed teenager reportedly posted a series of photos on his Instagram account with images of dead bodies and guns. The photos were only stock images and did not appear to look like anything and anywhere located in the Santa Clarita Valley.
"We want people to know that we are looking into this, we take it seriously, and we've already discovered that those photos are not real, they are stock images," said L.A. County Sheriff's Department Lt. Brenda Cambra. Investigations started late Saturday.
Those who saw them took the social media death threats seriously. Who wouldn't as the attacks were aimed at the Santa Clarita students? Apparently, it was a prank -- a very bad one. The teenager was a student at one of the high schools in Santa Clarita Valley. He did the prank to get the attention of his friends.
The police went to the home of the juvenile and found no firearms or any weapon. It was only a hoax but such joke is considered a felony.
"We are aiming our guns mostly at high school students ... blood will be shed and families will suffer," one of the teenager's post read as caption of a photo of guns.
"Valencia High School has been nominated to be shot up first," another post stated.
"Slow and painful deaths will happen on a very dreadful day. I must not tell you which day it will be, you will find out yourself," was written on another Instagram post.
"Death makes the world go round," threatened the teenager in a third post.
The account on Instagram has since been deleted and the Facebook-owned social photo-sharing site will help with the investigation.
Extra precautions will be taken this Monday as students go back to school. Parents want assurance that their kids are safe in their campuses. Meanwhile, the primary suspect of the hoax is now at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. He will be released to the Los Angeles County Probation Department on Monday.
