STOCKTON, Calif. — Two teenagers have been arrested after deputies say they posted a threat against a Stockton high school on Instagram.
According to Sheriff Pat Withrow, a post on Instagram claimed there would be a shooting at Franklin High School the next day.
Before school started Thursday, sheriff's deputies arrested two students, ages 14 and 17. Both were taken to the San Joaquin County Juvenile Detention Facility.
The sheriff's office and the Stockton Unified School District Police Department worked jointly through the night to identify and detain the teens.
“That scares me every day to bring her here that [a shooting] may happen,” said parent Rebecca Brown.
Brown's daughter is a junior at Franklin High School. On Thursday morning she got a call that someone had threatened to “shoot up” her daughter’s school.
“I was ready to come and take her out of school and I want to home school her myself so she doesn’t have to deal with this because it’s been a couple of times that they’ve already threatened kids like this,” Brown said.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said the threat originally came in through at least six posts on Instagram on a local media group’s page, including a photo of a handgun, sometime before 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
“The threat was, I don’t know the exact wording but I’m going to shoot up Franklin High School tomorrow with an AK-47,” said Sheriff Pat Withrow.
Withrow says he activated his Joint Terrorism Task Force crew among, other resources, to work hand-in-hand with the school district’s police department to track down the students involved, eventually arresting the two minors in the early morning hours.
“If bad guys think they’re going to come to San Joaquin County and victimize our citizens and our children, we’re going to be waiting for them along with every law enforcement agency here in the county,” he said.
While he doesn’t believe either of the teens had guns on them at the time of their arrest, he is treating this as a credible threat on the same day two students were shot and killed less than five hours away in Santa Clarita.
“It’s scary to us when these threats come in. It’s depressing that we have to live like this here in our society,” he said. “I’m very proud of the work that SUSD and Chief Johnston did and her staff and my staff. We got them the information and we stepped back and we let those guys do their jobs and gave them the resources and support they need.”
Both teens are facing charges of criminal terrorist threats and conspiracy.
"We will not tolerate threats of any nature," Stockton Unified School District stated in a press release. "We need to come together as a community of students, families, and school personnel to end this disruption of student learning. We urge parents to talk with their children and impress upon them the seriousness of threats in today’s society."
The Stockton Unified School District said the students will face disciplinary action by both the school system and the juvenile justice system.
Stockton Unified School District also asks that students notify parents or school personnel should they hear of any planned or potential disruptive behavior.
San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said people should consider all threats real and authentic until proven otherwise.
Veronica Lynch, a spokesperson for the Stockton Unified School District, confirmed Franklin High School parents should have received a call regarding this situation.
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