Eleven-year-old boy arrested as school threats spread across Tucson

The days of false reports online led police to increase security at some college campuses and increase patrols near schools, which was very upsetting for parents and students.

“The Public Safety Communications Department (PSCD) received a large number of 9-1-1 calls containing threatening messages,” Tucson police said in a news release Monday. “At the same time, other viral threats against schools were being shared showing various images with other school names in the Tucson area, resulting in over one hundred 9-1-1 calls.”

In one of the Tucson cases, investigators linked the 11-year-old boy to an initial threat against a Tucson middle school. The boy was arrested for disrupting an educational institution after admitting to the threat and taken to the Pima County Juvenile Detention Center, the news release said.

The student's intention was to “create fear and unrest in the school, but never to commit an act of violence,” said Kelley Brooks-Cavaletto, principal of Elvira Middle School, in a statement to parents on Monday.

The school will offer counseling services to the students, the principal continued.

Separately, Tucson police received information Monday morning about a new threat related to an unnamed high school.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested in this incident. He is accused of using electronic communication devices to terrorize, intimidate, threaten or harass others. He was also taken to the youth detention center, the press release states.

Meanwhile, Marana Police posted on their Facebook page that they too are dealing with a flood of threats against schools.

While they said it was important to report such threats to law enforcement, they also urged parents and students to refrain from “sharing or reposting unverified threats on social media.”

The authority also urged parents to talk to their children about the seriousness of such threats and the resulting criminal charges.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department said Monday that it had also investigated the numerous online threats and so far found them to be unfounded.

“The safety of our students and educational communities is our top priority. PCSD is committed to taking all necessary actions, including arrests, when sufficient evidence and reasonable suspicion exist. We work closely with regional law enforcement agencies to ensure a comprehensive and vigilant response to these threats.”

The ministry urged anyone with information that could help identify the threats to call 911 immediately.

Earlier this month, authorities arrested two students after multiple reports of threats against the school, and a charter school had its students attend classes online rather than on campus.

The fake threats began days after a shooting that left four people dead and nine injured at a Georgia high school outside Atlanta. A 14-year-old student and his father have been charged in connection with the Georgia case.