North Texas middle school student charged after text threatens to "shoot up the school"
MIDLOTHIAN - A 12-year-old student is charged with terroristic threat after a text in a group chat threatened to "shoot up the school."
A parent reached out to the Midlothian Police Department on Sunday night, saying their child received text messages from an unknown number that they found alarming.
These texts were part of a group chat received by several Walnut Grove Middle School students, MPD says.
One of the texts indicated that the sender planned to "shoot up the school."
The number the text came from was traced back to a burner app, which spoofs phone numbers. Officers were sent to the Walnut Grove campus as a precaution Monday morning.
Through their investigation, MPD was able to trace the source of the messages to a 12-year-old student at the school. Because he is a minor, his name will not be released.
He is being held at the Eilis County Juvenile Detention Center in Waxahachie.
The investigation is ongoing, although MPD says they do not believe the threats were valid and there is no indication the threat made to the school was credible.
Terroristic threat is a third-degree felony.