KEY POINTS

  • The officers searched the teen's house and found no weapons
  • Multiple schools in Charlotte received bomb threats last week
  • The FBI said making a hoax threat can draw up to five years in federal prison

A North Carolina 14-year-old child was arrested after he allegedly posted a threat on Instagram about carrying out a mass shooting in his school.

The staff at the Southwest Middle School in Steele Creek shared the post with a school resource officer on Sept. 19, the police said on Twitter on Monday.

The police then launched an investigation, and were able to link the account to the eighth grader, who wasn't identified due to their age.

The officers searched the teen's house and found no weapons, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said on Facebook. The post said the authorities also made contact with another student, who shared a different post, which could also be perceived as a threat.

The first student apparently confessed to making the threat. Details about the threat were, however, not revealed.

"Making a school threat is not a prank – it's a crime," the department said in the post. "Great work by a school resource officer and our Steele Creek Division officers to investigate a threat of mass violence against a local school and make a quick arrest."

The second teen wasn't detained by the authorities, according to Charlotte Observer. They were expected to face disciplinary actions by the school authorities.

The incident comes after several schools in Charlotte received bomb threats last week, stirring panic among parents and forcing mass evacuations. The police believe a threat received by Hough High in Cornelius on Tuesday wasn't specifically meant for the school itself. After this, multiple other bomb threats followed suit, plunging a number of Charlotte schools into brief lockdown.

The police had arrested two students in Cabarrus County for making seven bomb threats against four schools over a course of three days.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that making a hoax shooting threat against schools or public places is a crime that can draw up to five years in federal prison on conviction.

"Hoax threats disrupt school, waste limited law enforcement resources, and put first responders in unnecessary danger. We also don't want to see a young person start out adulthood with a felony record over an impulsive social media post. It's not a joke; always think before you post," FBI said.

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