SchoolFinder Blog

Empty Threats Land High School Student in Jail

My mother always says, think twice before you speak once. Unfortunately, a 16-year-old student from Half Hollow High School East had to learn this lesson the hard way after getting arrested at a school pep rally.

Apparently, a 16-year-old student threatened to shoot “numerous people” while at his school pep rally. He was turned in when another student, who felt threatened by his announcement, reported him to authorities.

The student insisted that he was only joking as police arrested him and charged him with two misdemeanors, falsely reporting an incident and endangering the welfare of a child. Police reported that the student threatened to bring a gun to the pep rally and shoot numerous students; however no gun was found on the student.

Perhaps this was simply an angry teenager venting to a friend, who had no real intent to cause harm. However, the lesson to learn here is that these types of jokes can no longer be taken lightly, and while he may have been venting, it still caused fear in other students.