Two Washoe County School District students are facing felony-level charges after allegedly posting school shooting threats online, and now the district police chief is asking parents to take an active role in monitoring their child’s devices.
“Have those conversations with your kids. Know what accounts your kids have, and hold them accountable for the information that they’re posting and sharing,” Police Chief Tracy Moore said on Wednesday.
He said that the posts shared online over the last two weeks contained images of guns, and specific school names and dates. Investigators jumped on the case, but the images still reached enough district families for some to panic.
“It does cause fear in our community, in our schools,” Moore said. “It affects attendance. We don’t need the students having that type of anxiety. We want them to feel safe when they go to school.”
Moore said that when people in the community do come across violent or threatening posts online, they should report it to police without sharing or reposting the content. When an online threat has gone ‘viral’ or been shared widely across the community, detectives have a harder time tracking down the original account that shared the post.
Moore also said he hopes that the student arrests over the last two weeks send the message that school police do everything in their power to ensure classroom safety, and he hopes it sends a message to would-be online criminals.
“I hope that the people who are creating these messages do understand the seriousness of their postings – that, yes, we will find out who you are. We will do an investigation, and we’re going to hold you accountable for your criminal actions to the highest extent,” he said.
