DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. —The Horn Lake Police Department detained a juvenile associated with some threatening social media posts against schools.
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department and the Horn Lake Police Department said they added additional patrols at Horn Lake High School and Lake Cormorant High after a threat was made on Snapchat.
WREG viewers sent us screenshots of the threats. One showed a gun being pointed out of what appears to be a car window, aimed at the school. Another was a close-up of a grenade.
Horn Lake Police said the images were old, but had been re-shared by the juvenile, who was charged with Obscene Electronic Communications and Violation of Probation through Youth Court after being taken into custody early Tuesday.
They did not say whether he or she was a student.
DeSoto County Schools confirms they were the first to notify authorities about the post Monday night.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “The Horn Lake Police Department and The Desoto County Sheriff’s Department worked with school and district officials during the overnight hours to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”
Desoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco says they worked closely with Horn Lake and narrowed in on the person who posted it and his father.
“Horn Lake made contact with the dad last night. And the dad said [his son] was staying with someone in Marshall County,” said Rasco.
The father reportedly picked up his son early Tuesday morning and took him to the Horn Lake Police Department.
“With things that are happening around the word in schools, we can’t take anything just routine. It has to be taken very seriously,” said Rasco.
The Horn Lake Police Department released a statement saying:
On September 17, 2018 Horn Lake Police Department received information that a threat toward Horn Lake High School had surfaced through social media. Investigators were able to determine the original source of the post who was identified as a juvenile. He/she was detained in the early morning hours of September 18, 2018. During the course of the interview it was discovered that the images were old; however, they had been shared by the detained juvenile at some point. Eventually the juvenile was charged with Obscene Electronic Communications and Violation of Probation through Youth Court. He/she is currently in custody at the Desoto County Juvenile Detention Center.
Horn Lake Police Officers along with Desoto County School Security Officials maintained a heavy presence at the school and will continue to keep the safety of the students a top priority.
