Spokane Valley deputies arrest 11-year-old for threatening East Valley students on social media
Posted
By
Wilson Criscione
on Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 4:14 PM
An 11-year-old boy was arrested this morning for alleged threats he made on Instagram yesterday that targeted two elementary school students, according to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.
Spokane Valley deputies learned of the threats last night. According to a news release, the kids were on an Instagram Live broadcast when the 11-year-old started threatening the other two, saying he knew where the victims lived and where they attended school.
The victims "were very scared the suspect may carry these threats out, especially due to the recent school shootings," the news release says.
Mark Gregory, the public information officer for the Sheriff's Office, says he can't provide further detail on what was said specifically. But he said the victims felt the suspect could possibly carry the threats out.
"In today's world, with what the suspect was saying, they felt there was a possibility," Gregory says.
The victims attend Trentwood Elementary and South Pines Elementary in the East Valley School District. East Valley Superintendent Kelly Shea announced this morning that the 11-year-old was "angry at someone who has a relative at Trentwood," so Trentwood and nearby East Valley Middle School were placed on modified lockdown.
"We are taking this very seriously," Shea wrote. "We are striving to find the balance between taking action to ensure the safety of our students and our staff while ensuring the normalcy of life."
The 11-year-old suspect was located at 9 am this morning and taken into juvenile detention for threats to bomb or injure property and for two felony counts of harassment.
The Sheriff's Office urges parents to tell children to immediately report all threats and to caution them about what they post on social media.
"The school districts, Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office take these threats very seriously," the Sheriff's Office says.
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