Teenage girl arrested for school threats that led to west Phoenix high school lockdown
Oct 3, 2024, 6:10 PM
A teenager has been arrested for posting school threats on social media that led to a west Phoenix high school being locked down. (Phoenix Police Photo)
(Phoenix Police Photo)
PHOENIX — A teenager has been arrested for posting school threats on social media that led to a west Phoenix high school being locked down, the Phoenix Police Department announced Thursday.
Sierra Linda High School, located near 67th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road, was locked down on Wednesday as police responded to multiple school threats posted on social media.
On Thursday, a teenage girl was arrested and interviewed following an investigation into the origin of the social media posts. The girl admitted her involvement and said it was a joke a that got out of hand, according to authorities.
The teenager was booked into a juvenile correctional center and charged with three felonies, terroristic threats, computer tampering and disruption of an educational institution.
The girl’s social media posts led to a shutdown of the campus and a search by law enforcement.
An investigation into the threats began early in the morning on Wednesday when the school learned from students of messages spreading across the school from social media posts. At 10:15 a.m., the school resource sergeant began assisting the administrators.
At 11 a.m., a message that contained a photo of a common space in the school was posted. At that point the school was put into lockdown in order for every student to be accounted for.
Police were called to the scene and began securing and searching the school.
The officers deemed the campus to be safe around noon and students were released from school, which released students at that time on Wednesdays, according to the police department.
There were no reports of a shooting or any injuries.
The department warned in a press release that they have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who threatens and disrupts an education establishment.
Phoenix police advise anyone who encounters a threat to report it to police or school staff and not to repost on social media.
The school is in Phoenix but is part of the Tolleson Union High School District.
No other details were made available.
Last week, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said it had received 11 cases involving school threats by minors since the start of September.
Editor’s Note: This is an update to a story that was originally published on Oct. 2, 2024.
