11-year-old girl charged after shooting threat to Gary school
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Lake County Sheriff's Department investigators have charged an 11-year-old girl and may have thwarted a possible school threat in Gary, Indiana, officials say.
According to the department, a social media post threatened an active shooter scenario at 9 a.m. Monday at Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School. The post included a photo of several assault rifles and named a teacher as a potential victim.
The Lake Superior Court-Juvenile Division confirmed an 11-year-old is facing two felony counts of intimidation and a misdemeanor count of harassment.
The 11-year-old was in custody at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center Sunday evening, according to a release.
The mother of the 11-year-old has been arrested on an outstanding warrant for neglect of a dependent, but her identity is not being released in order to protect the child's identity.
"Even if the posts turn out to be a hoax, we want to be clear that this type of suspicious behavior will not be tolerated in Lake County, Indiana," said Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. "We have a dedicated team of analysts who specialize in electronic media investigations. To those who would attempt to threaten lives in Lake County and hide behind social media - we will identify you, we will find you and we will prosecute you."