Boy in custody after Instagram threat to Indian Creek High School
TRAFALGAR, Ind. (WISH) — A boy was taken into custody at his home Monday afternoon after putting threatening messages on Instagram about Indian Creek High School, the town’s police chief said.
Trafalgar Police Chief Charles Roberts said the messages were sent about 3:15 p.m. Monday. Police quickly learned of them and visited the boy’s home, where his mother gave permission for a search. Police found no guns at the home but later took the boy into custody and to the Johnson County juvenile detention center. It was not known whether the boy would face any charges, but, Roberts said, the boy was already on probation.
Roberts said Monday’s incident was the third in the past week for the Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson school district. All three incidents involved different students. School officials informed parents of the latest incident Monday afternoon through an automated call.
The superintendent and assistant superintendent of the district did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment Monday afternoon.
Roberts said the two messages contained photos of the boy and another juvenile.
The first message said: Can I get a RIP because the school’s probably gonna get shot up, LOL.
The second message said: If you’re gonna shoot up the school, don’t tell anyone and when it happens you won’t get a (expletive) ton of cops.”
On Tuesday, police were added at Indian Creek High School after a student told another student he was going to bring a gun to school and kill him, according to the Daily Journal, a newsgathering partner of News 8. A parent of the student who was threatened told local police on the afternoon of Feb. 18 about the threat which happened during the school day in the “recent past,” principal Luke Skobel told the Daily Journal. School officials would not divulge many details because the incident is still under investigation.
Trafalgar Police on Feb. 18 searched the home of the boy who made the threat, but found no weapons. His parents, who were cooperative, said he does not have access to weapons, Skobel told the Daily Journal. The student is a sophomore at the school, he said.
Trafalgar police notified the school of the threat immediately, and the school notified parents at all Indian Creek schools on the night of Feb. 18.
“I do know that social media played a role,” Skobel said.
No additional information on the three incidents was immediately available.
