5 arrests across North Texas in connection to school threats
Amid a rash of threats against schools on social media, North Texas police departments have arrested five people, all separately accused of threatening violence against schools in the region.
3 arrests in Arlington
The Arlington Police Department made two arrests on Thursday and another on Friday morning.
Administrators at Arlington High School flagged a social media threat to the school resource officer on Thursday, the police department said in a Facebook post Friday. Police said they traced the post to 18-year-old Kevin Martinez-Molina, who is not a student at Arlington High School.
Martinez-Molina told officers he made the post as a prank, according to police. He was arrested and charged with allegedly making a terroristic threat, which is a felony, and is being held at the Arlington city jail. Information on a court hearing or whether he has an attorney was not immediately available.
A student at Arlington ISD's Gunn Junior High School was also arrested Thursday after multiple witnesses reported the student for making a verbal threat against the school, police said. The student was arrested and charged for allegedly making a terroristic threat and was taken to the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center. The student's identity will not be released.
Friday morning, Arlington police say they arrested a Lamar High School student who allegedly threatened a staff member. The student was also charged with making a terroristic threat and taken to the county juvenile detention center. The student is a juvenile and will not be identified.
"We will use every resource available to us to try to identify who is creating threatening posts," Arlington PD wrote in the Facebook post. "And as we've stated before, we will not hesitate to arrest and file criminal charges against those individuals, regardless of whether the threat is real or fake."
CBS News Texas has reached out to Arlington ISD for comment.
Frisco ISD threat
Frisco ISD sent a letter to the parents of Hunt Middle School students on Friday about a threat against the school on social media.
The letter said that Frisco PD investigated and determined that the threat was not credible. However, they arrested a student for making the threat.
Frisco ISD asked parents to remind their children that charges of threatening a school carry possible prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Suspended Wylie East High School student arrested
Wylie police say they responded to a Whataburger late Thursday night over a 16-year-old boy who was threatening to shoot up Wylie East High School. Witnesses told officers that the boy said he was expelled from the school earlier in the day, and that they feared for their lives because they also attended the school.
Police said they took the boy into custody for making the threat, and later learned that he was suspended from Wylie East that day for making comments that classmates felt were threatening.
In a letter sent to East High School families, principal Tiffany Doolan wrote that there are no active threats against the school.
"Our district does not tolerate threats. We take any and all threatening behavior seriously, and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Threats of any kind, whether made in jest or with serious intent, will be fully investigated, and appropriate consequences will be enforced," Doolan said.
