Uvalde teen arrested for shooting threat only months after massacre at Robb Elementary
A teenager in Uvalde, Texas was arrested in connection with a shooting threat at the local high school — only months after a gunman massacred 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary.
After the Uvalde Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety were alerted to the potential threat Monday evening, authorities made contact with a 16-year-old student. He was taken into custody on felony terroristic threat charges.
Police said the teen was booked into a juvenile detention facility after he confessed to threatening to shoot another student.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District on Tuesday sent an email to students and teachers confirming the incident, KENS 5 reported. School officials said the threat was reported through STOPit, a bullying prevention app that allows both students and parents to anonymously report “threats, inappropriate actions, or behaviors.”
“We are thankful that the tools provided to the UCISD families effectively resolved this situation without harming students or staff,” school officials said. “Continued diligence in this regard will help ensure a safe school environment for all.”
The school district declined to provide further information, including details about the suspect, who is not being named because he is a minor.
“We appreciate the swift action taken by both entities to address the situation and remove the threat,” the email reads. “Because this is an ongoing investigation involving a juvenile, the District will have no further comment at this time. We will continue to work closely with state and local law enforcement agencies on the case.”
The tight-knit community of Uvalde, a city some 80 miles west of San Antonio, is still reeling from the mass shooting at Robb Elementary. On May 24, gunman Salvador Ramos burst into the school and then barricaded himself inside a classroom, where he remained for nearly an hour.
The 18-year-old killed 19 students and two teachers before he was shot by a responding Border Patrol agent.
The shooting threat also comes weeks after the UCISD opted to suspend its entire police force amid backlash sparked by officers’ response to the shooting.
