Mesa Police officers responded on September 13, to two unrelated calls at Liberty Charter School and Westwood High School, related to threats against the schools. In both cases, teens made social media threats catching the attention of other students and parents.
In the Liberty Charter School incident, a student posted pictures on Instagram showing a weapon and said she was going to shoot up the school. School staff was immediately notified of the posting by other students and determined they were made by a 13 year old female attending the school. She was immediately located and detained by staff while officers responded. Officers interviewed the student who said she sent the messages because she was dared to by her friends. Officers determined she had no weapons or reasonable means to obtain any weapons. The parent was notified that the student was charged with one count of ARS 13-2911, Interfering with an educational facility, a class 6 Felony.
In the Westwood High School incident, a student reported to staff there was writing on a wall in a boys restroom, saying “Friday, be ready for a lockdown.” The School Resource Officer was notified and began the reporting process. A short time later, the SRO was notified of a Snapchat post stating “I have a surprise for everyone tomorrow.” Detectives were assigned to the case and were able to determine the owner of the Snapchat account was a 14 year old male. Detectives responded to his residence where he admitted to sending the post. He said it was just a joke. Detectives determined that he had no weapons or reasonable means to obtain them. The suspect was charged with count ARS 13-2911, interfering with an educational facility, a class 6 Felony, ARS 13-2904, Disorderly Conduct, a class 1 Misdemeanor and one count 13-1202, Threatening and intimidating, a class 1 Misdemeanor.