By Sarah Bahari
Staff writer
A Wylie student was arrested this week for threatening to shoot up his high school.
Police responded to a call from a Whataburger in Wylie around 10:45 p.m. Thursday. When officers arrived, they learned a 16-year-old boy made threats to “shoot up the school,” and said he was expelled earlier in the day, Wylie police said in a news release.
Witnesses attended the same school, Wylie East, and said they feared for their lives. Police said the student was suspended that day for making comments that classmates found threatening.
This was the second call authorities received about the boy. Earlier in the evening, someone called to report that he was wandering aimlessly and looking distraught at a RaceTrac convenience store nearby, Wylie police Sgt. Donald English told The Dallas Morning News.
Wylie is about 30 miles northeast of Dallas.
The boy, whose name was not released because he is a minor, faces a charge of threatening to use a firearm at school. He is in custody at the Collin County Juvenile Detention Center.
The arrest comes as police and schools are dealing with an onslaught of violent online threats, most of which have been proven fake or are unconfirmed. Some threats were general while others targeted specific schools, prompting changes and postponements to classes, high school football games and other sports events.
School districts across North Texas — including Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Cedar Hill, Dallas, DeSoto, Duncanville, Ennis, Fort Worth, Irving and Royse City — have been the target of threats. Several school districts amped up police presence on campuses.
Dallas ISD police Chief Albert Martinez said his team is devoting 70% to 80% of their energy toward dealing with reported threats because of the sheer volume.
In a message Friday to families, Wylie East Principal Tiffany Doolan said the district does not tolerate threats.
“We take any and all threatening behavior seriously, and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” the letter said. “Threats of any kind, whether made in jest or with serious intent, will be fully investigated, and appropriate consequences will be enforced.”
In addition to Wylie, police have made a handful of other arrests.
Arlington police arrested 18-year-old Kevin Martinez-Molina on Thursday after a threat against Arlington High School surfaced on social media. Martinez-Molina, who is not a student at the school, faces a charge of making a terroristic threat.
Also Thursday, a student at Gunn Junior High School in Arlington was accused of making a verbal threat against the school and was arrested. He was taken to the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center.
An Ennis ISD student received a message on social media that the district was on a list for a potential threat. An investigation determined the message was circulated statewide and had no credibility, but the person “responsible for this original action” was arrested in Edinburg, a district news release said.
A 16-year-old former DeSoto High School student was taken into police custody after an anonymous tip that a student was possibly armed with a gun at the school, DeSoto police said in a news release.
A 15-year-old was detained by Royse City police and faces a terroristic threat charge after he allegedly posted online that he might bring a bomb to an after-school student group meeting, according to a news release. Police said the teen told officers he didn’t intend to carry out the threat.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
