CALIFORNIA, USA — The fallout from a deluge of false school threats posted to social media has led to multiple arrests in Northern California.
Schools both locally and nationwide have been inundated in recent days by threats posted to social media, but investigating agencies have deemed most of them as unsubstantiated and potentially related to a social media trend.
The false threats caused some students to leave school early Friday. Threats also continued over the weekend and into Monday. Police are investigating and unmasking some of the people behind the false threats.
Some arrests have also been made in connection with threats that weren't online and at least one wasn't connected to the social media trend.
Note that agencies generally don't release the names of minors.
Sacramento
A student at McClatchy High School was arrested on suspicion of making shooting threats against the school. The Sacramento Police Department said it was investigating shooting threats made against McClatchy High School on Friday and ultimately arrested a 14-year-old girl Monday night.
Roseville
A teenager was arrested Wednesday (9/11) on suspicion of making false threats toward a middle school in Roseville. A 13-year-old boy was accused of making false social media threats toward Silverado Middle School, but the threat wasn't credible. Deputies said the minor was booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of making terroristic threats.
Stockton
A student in the Lincoln Unified School District is facing charges in connection with school social media threats. A 16-year-old student from Lincoln Unified was arrested due to making threatening posts on social media. Even though police said the threats were unsubstantiated, the student will be facing threat-related charges.
On Tuesday, police also announced a 15-year-old Lodi Unified School District student was arrested in Stockton after allegedly making a threatening video against a local elementary school. It's not clear what school was threatened; police told ABC10 they weren't releasing the name of the school. The teen will be facing criminal threat-related charges.
Modesto
A Modesto High School student was arrested in connection with social media threats toward schools Monday. The student was accused of posting one of the threats along with a picture of a gun. The threats were unsubstantiated.
Another student was also arrested after he was allegedly overheard by others threatening to commit a shooting during the school day. According to Modesto Police Department, the suspect was a student at Hanshaw Middle School. He was eventually contacted at home, taken into custody and booked into juvenile hall.
Lodi
Lodi police said a 15-year-old was arrested in connection with threats of violence directed at a local school. Police on Monday night didn't say what the threats were but that the teen was booked into juvenile hall and a search warrant was served at his home.
Manteca
A 13-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of online threats toward an elementary and high school in Manteca. Police said the threats were not part of the nationwide social media trend. The 13-year-old suspect was booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of criminal threats and threatening a public officer.
Newman and Patterson
A minor in Newman was arrested in connection with a social media post threatening schools in Stanislaus County. The minor was identified as the suspect and arrested Friday on suspicion of criminal threats and 71 PC, threats to public employees, public officers, school employees, or officers.
The minor will also be facing charges in Patterson, too. The Patterson Joint Unified School District confirmed with ABC10 that their schools were among those threatened by the minor. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office said their office will pursue the same charges for threats made to the city of Patterson.
Galt
A 15-year-old was arrested and is being accused of making online threats against Galt-area high schools, the Galt Police Department said Tuesday.
Galt police were investigating online threats and said a teenage boy was booked into Sacramento County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of felony charges. Based on the investigation, police think he acted alone and there are no other possible suspects involved. It's unclear if the teenager was a student in the area.
El Dorado County
On Friday, El Dorado County sheriff's deputies announced three county schools were named in a threatening social media post along with a fourth school in Sacramento County. Deputies said they found and contacted the minor responsible for the post. They ultimately determined the threats weren't credible, but it's not clear if the minor was arrested or facing charges. ABC10 sent an inquiry to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office for clarification, but it was not immediately returned.
Rocklin
On Friday, the Rocklin Police Department contacted a student allegedly responsible for a TikTok video threatening violence at Spring View Middle School. It's not clear if the student was arrested or facing charges. ABC10 sent an inquiry to the Rocklin Police Department for clarification, but the inquiry was not immediately returned.
