Students who liked or shared Facebook threat against school being scrutinized
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POCATELLO — A southeast Idaho teen is denying allegations he made threats against Pocatello High School on social media this weekend.
The juvenile, whose name is not being released, was arrested and booked into Juvenile Detention Center in Bannock County on Sunday. He faces a misdemeanor charge of threatening violence on school grounds.
On Monday, during a court hearing, the juvenile denied the accusations against him. He will be back in court on May 11 for a pre-trial conference.
Police spokeswoman Diane Brush told EastIdahoNews.com the juvenile was released to his parents on Monday following the hearing. He will remain out of school awaiting disciplinary action, Brush said.
It is unclear the exact nature of the threat against the school.
In addition to the juvenile who was charged, Brush said students who participated in the social media post by either sharing it, liking or commenting on it, may also be subject to disciplinary action within the school district.
“This is a learning experience for everyone, we have to take all threats seriously,” Brush told EastIdahoNews.com. “Parents should take note, consider monitoring your children’s activity on social media, consider having access to your children’s account. Really we just want every to be safe, we want the school children and their families to feel safe at school, if these threats were ignored then that simply wouldn’t be possible.”
We reached out to the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 for confirmation of the disciplinary actions.
“Because of the possibility of a FERPA Law violation, we do not feel we can comment on disciplinary actions relative to the student who made the threat against Pocatello High School,” spokeswoman Shelly Allen told EastdahoNews.com. “… the involvement of other students in the threat against Pocatello High School is being fully investigated and will be handled through the District’s disciplinary process.”
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