12-year-old arrested by Jeffersonville police after making threats against two middle schools | News from WDRB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A 12-year-old was arrested and charged with intimidation after a threat was made on social media against two southern Indiana middle schools.

Jeffersonville Police were originally notified of an alleged closure at Parkview Middle School.

According to a press release from Jeffersonville Police Detective Lt. Samuel Moss, “this information comes from direct communication from a student who was at school and texting his parents.”

Both Parkview Middle School and River Valley Middle School increased security measures on Thursday after authorities became aware of potential threats, but neither school instituted curfews.

Jeffersonville police and district administration began investigating a threat against River Valley that circulated on social media Wednesday evening, according to a message from Superintendent Mark Laughner to parents of students at River Valley Middle School and Parkview Middle School.

The threat specifically mentioned River Valley, but “other posts referencing the threat also began to include Parkview Middle School.”

The message said police had thoroughly investigated the threat against River Valley and found it to be implausible. It added: “Officers are still investigating the threat related to Parkview. Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased police presence in River Valley and Parkview.”

In an update shortly before 2 p.m., Jeffersonville police said investigators had managed to identify the author of the social media post, a seventh-grader at Parkview School.

Police said affidavits of reasonable suspicion will also be submitted for review to potentially lead to intimidation charges against two other students.

Jeffersonville police said in their press release that tips are welcome, but stressed that caution should be used with social media posts that could result in legal action.

“The Jeffersonville Police Department would like to ask parents to speak with their children to remind them of the seriousness of communicating any type of threat and the importance of reporting a threat to a school official or law enforcement,” Jeffersonville Police said in a social media post. “Sharing or creating misinformation on social media only adds to the chaos and impairs the efficiency of police and school administration investigations. These actions jeopardize the safety of our schools and disrupt the educational environment.”

Other threats

Several school districts across the river in Kentucky have canceled classes or increased security measures this week after similar threats. Students were already on school buses when Adair County decided to cancel classes early Wednesday after learning of a threat on Snapchat.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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