10-Year-Old Charged with Felony Terrorist Threat for Alleged School Shooting Hoax in Texas

A 10-year-old student has been charged with felony terrorist threat for allegedly threatening to commit a school shooting at a Kerrville, Texas, middle school, police said Monday.

Alleged Hoax Threat

The child, who was not named by authorities, posted "a hoax threat to social media with the intent of causing alarm or panic," the Kerrville Police Department said in a statement. The department said it was aware of social media posts threatening to carry out a shooting at Hal Peterson Middle School on Tuesday and "immediately initiated a thorough investigation into these threats."

School resource officers, working with district officials, began investigating and found that the 10-year-old made the social media posts as a hoax. Hal Peterson Middle School in Kerrville, Texas.Google MapsPolice said "no valid threat to Hal Peterson Middle School existed."

The school said in a Facebook post that counselors had been in classes over the last week to introduce the "See Something Say Something" campaign, an initiative that encourages people to report suspicious activity. Kerrville police said that making a school shooting threat is a felony offense and every threat will be taken seriously. Law enforcement agencies across the country have put out similar warnings with one sheriff's office in Volusia County, Florida, releasing the mugshots and "perp walk" videos of arrested students.

Importance of Reporting Threats

"The legal consequences for people who make threats, including juveniles, can be severe and permanent," Kerrville police said. "We strongly urge parents to speak with their children about the seriousness of making threats, or posting information to social media that reference violence to our schools. Remind your children that school threats are a felony and will have serious consequences."