A 12-year-old boy threatened to carry out an act of “mass harm” at his Long Island middle school by posting a photo of gun on social media — forcing the school to cancel all classes for the day, according to cops and the district.
The pre-teen posted the disturbing photo on Instagram, prompting Suffolk County cops to descend on Copiague Middle School on Great Neck Road around 6:45 a.m. Monday, police said.
The teen was arrested and charged with making a threat of mass harm, cops said.
A statement issued by Copiague Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Bannon informed families that the school initially became aware of the disturbing posting around midnight.
“To allow [police] time to safely conduct their investigation, we made the decision to delay the opening of the Middle School building today,” Bannon wrote. “The investigation took longer than expected and classes were canceled for the entire day at the Middle School.”
Authorities also searched the boy’s home and found no weapons, Bannon said.
“Student and staff safety is our highest priority,” the superintendent wrote. “District officials and law enforcement take all threats seriously and we will investigate each incident thoroughly.”
“We ask that parents and guardians take a moment to remind students that threats have no place in our schools or our community,” she added.
Parent Tyjia Carpenter told News 12 his daughter called him when she and her fellow students couldn’t enter the school.
“She called me this morning and she’s like, ‘We can’t go to school! There’s a threat at the school,’” Carpenter said. “We went by there. Security was outside. The cops were there. It was serious, man.”
Officers ultimately determined that the threat was not credible, cops said.
The middle schooler will be arraigned at a later date, police said.
His arrest came days after a 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection to bomb threats at Westhampton Beach High School and Middle School, authorities said.
And about a month ago, an 18-year-old female student was charged with making a threat of “mass harm” toward Huntington High School through a concerning Snapchat post, cops said.
