12-year-old Norwood middle school student arrested for mass shooting threat
NORWOOD – A 12-year-old Norwood middle school student was arrested Sunday after police say the child sent a text message threatening a mass shooting.
The student, who has not been identified because of their age, allegedly sent the message Friday morning, warning of a shooting they claimed would happen Monday at Coakley Middle School.
Norwood police officers are expected to provide an extra presence at the school and Norwood High School on Monday as students return to class.
Norwood Police said the message included details that led them to believe the person who sent it had knowledge of the school.
Within hours of learning of the threat, police said they identified the student believed to have sent it. Detectives spoke with the child, who was out of state with family, briefly on the phone. When the family returned home Sunday, police executed a search warrant and seized a cellphone.
The student confessed to sending the threat, police said. No weapons were found in the home.
Norwood Police said the student will not be at school on Monday.