A student has been charged with threatening to “blow up” a Charles County, Maryland, high school in early January.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said the 17-year-old student was behind posts from two separate Instagram accounts made Jan. 6 threatening an attack at Waldorf’s St. Charles High School.
The accounts, which have been disabled, made posts threatening to “blow up” the school along with images of a handgun. Students did not know who made the posts before the two accounts were pulled down.
Deputies were notified, and a subsequent investigation revealed the images of the gun had been taken from elsewhere on the web.
The Charles County Sheriff’s homeland security and intelligence unit later linked the posts to a 17-year-old student, who was formally charged Wednesday with making threats of mass violence.
The student’s name has not been made public; Maryland law withholds the identities of minors who have been charged as juveniles.
“The CCSO is reminding parents to talk with their children about the proper use of social media and the internet and the consequences of making threats of violence,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Sgt. J. Long by calling 301-609-6562. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Charles County Public Schools confidential tip line at 301-302-8305.
