Teen accused of making threat against Flanagan High, he said it was a joke
MIAMI - A South Florida teen told police he posted a threatening message to a school as a joke.
Turns out, that's not funny and now he's been charged.
On Thursday, March 9th, Pembroke Pines police received several calls about threatening text messages concerning Charles W. Flanagan High School.
One of the text messages, which was shared among students, had the caption "Flanagans gonna get shoot up by magfag tomorrow" alongside a photoshopped image of a cat holding a rifle.
The police department's Threat Assessment Team was able to identify the sender of the text as a 16-year-old
former student of Flanagan High School. They were also able to determine, after interviewing the teen and his mother, that he was out of state when the text messages were reported.
According to police, the teen said that "magfag" was the name of his cat, and that the text messages were intended as a joke.
Police said their investigation found there was no active threat to the high school campus.
When the teen returned to Pembroke Pines, he was taken into custody and charged with Written
Threats to Conduct a Mass Shooting, a felony.
Police say whether written as a joke or as a prank, all threats made against our schools are taken seriously
and will be investigated. Making threats of this nature is a serious offense and any individual who commits these acts will be arrested and charged accordingly.