Two juveniles arrested for bomb threat hoaxes
Sheriff Doug Hanks and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office have announced the arrests of two juvenile offenders for separate bomb threat hoaxes broadcast through the internet-based application “Snapchat” last week.
The first incident occurred on Monday, Sept. 9, with an image widely shared on social media purporting to detail a bomb threat and specifically directed towards “Cook County High School.” Cook County school officials were made aware of the bomb threat prior to the beginning of school and out of an abundance of caution closed access to the school and diverted students to the football stadium while the school was cleared.
Investigators then began searching for the origin of the message with the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and the search led to a 14-year-old female student at Lanier County Middle School. At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that the juvenile had taken a screen capture of a Snapchat conversation between her and another individual about the numerous threats made towards schools since the Sept. 6 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The juvenile then altered the message and added the wording directing the threat towards “Cook County,” and then sent it out as an image.
The juvenile was taken into custody on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 10, and charged with one count of terroristic threats and acts, one count of dissemination of information relating to a terroristic threat, and one count of disrupting a public school. She was transported to a Regional Youth Detention Center, where she remains incarcerated.
“I could not be more proud of the incredible and swift work our Investigators and the team we amassed to assist us did to bring this incident to a close,” stated Sheriff Hanks. “At one point, we had Investigators and Agents doing separate interviews in three different counties, networking together to eventually lead us to the perpetrator.”
The second unrelated incident occurred on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Cook Middle School. This incident began when an alert teacher notified administrators at the Middle School that one of her students had apparently posted a threat to Snapchat saying he was “going to blow up the school.” A vigilant student showed the teacher a screen capture of the threat. Administrators immediately contacted the School Resource Officer, who, along with the administration, identified the perpetrator and took him into custody.
The 13-year-old male juvenile was also charged with one count of terroristic threats and acts, one count of dissemination of information relating to a terroristic threat, and one count of disrupting a public school. He was transported to the Regional Youth Detention Center, where he remains incarcerated.
“Both of these incidents are stark examples of the teamwork and cooperation that exist between my office, the Cook County School System, and our law enforcement and public safety partners,” stated Sheriff Hanks. “I wish to commend the Cook County Middle School and School System staff, but especially the actions of the alert teacher and the vigilance of the student to come forward and report the threat. Their actions brought this incident to a quick closure.”
“The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is of utmost importance,” according to Cook County Schools. “We are appreciative of the partnership and support of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, Cook County EMA, Community Emergency Responders, 911 Center, and other public safety partners.”
Cook County Schools continued to conduct intruder drills that had been planned for the week at Cook Performance Learning Center, Cook Middle School, Cook Elementary School, and Cook Primary School. However, the intruder drill for Cook High School was rescheduled to Monday, Sept. 16.
Sheriff Hanks echoes the joint statement issued by the GBI and FBI Atlanta Office stating that specific threats on social media will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“We are also reminding members of the community that sharing online threats can cause undue panic and spread false information,” according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Additionally, state and federal authorities have said that the “majority” of investigations into the large increase in threats posted online since the shooting at Apalachee High School have been deemed non-credible. However, threats should still be reported to local law enforcement immediately.