Woodland Hills High School student charged with making hoax threat that prompted evacuation
CHURCHILL, Pa. (KDKA) -- A student has been charged with making a social media threat toward the Woodland Hills High School.
The bomb threat was posted to Instagram. It promoted a mass evacuation of nearly 1,000 students Wednesday.
Investigators traced the email and found the account was registered to 18-year-old Jason Cummings, a senior.
Superintendent Dr. Daniel Castagna said it came as a shock.
"We were very surprised when we found out who it was. Unfortunately, it's not a student that gave us problems," Castagna said.
Cummings was walked out of the building Thursday morning by Churchill police after investigators say he admitted to posting the threat. He has been charged with making a terrorist threat, a felony, and disorderly conduct.
"The motivation came from a neighboring school district, had a threat, kids were talking about it, how 'oh, I wish we could get out of school today' and he made that post just so they could go home early," explained Dr. Castagna.
According to the criminal complaint, Cummings mentioned a previous bomb threat at Gateway School District, which led to an early dismissal.
The superintendent said it's not worth it.
"People think they can do that behind a keyboard and get away with it. It's a very clear message: this is serious, serious consequences," Castagna said.