A 16-year-old male student from Harrisonburg High School has been transported to a juvenile detention center for allegedly making threats against HHS and Wilson Memorial High School.
The detention order was issued against the juvenile for threats of death or bodily injury to a person on school property (VA Code 18.2-60).
Harrisonburg Police located the suspect Monday evening and took him into custody. The identity of the juvenile suspect was not released.
“We want you to know that the source of the threat against our high schools has been identified by the Harrisonburg Police Department and the person of interest will not be at any of our campuses tomorrow,” read a message sent to parents just after 10 p.m. Monday. “We apologize for the delay in communicating this information, but we must balance our communication to families with the HPD’s investigative work.”
Harrisonburg and Rocktown high schools were closed on Monday due to the threat of violence. They planned to re-open today with security measures in place.
According to the initial complaint, the suspect reportedly made social media posts where he threatened to “shoot up” Harrisonburg High School and provided detailed plans on how he would carry out the act.
Harrisonburg Police were notified of the threat on Sunday.
The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office received information about a similar threat on Monday at 6:05 p.m. The threatening post alleged gun violence would occur at the school on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The threats mirrored the posts that targeted Harrisonburg High School.
Both of the threats originated from the same SnapChat profile, according to police.
The Sheriff’s Office said that the community should rest assured that the individual responsible for the threatening messages is in custody.
“I know these types of threats and messages bring great fear, anxiety and uncertainty to our community,” said Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith.
“Please know that the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office and Central Office work extremely hard to keep our community and schools safe at all times. If the origin was not determined, we would be cancelling school.”
Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased police presence around the Wilson schools complex on Tuesday.
Monitoring social media
The ASCO and Augusta County Public Schools ask parents to monitor, educate and counsel their children about social media.
Students and young adults may think these types of threats are funny, jokes or used to seek attention. Parents are encouraged to explain that threats of this nature have serious consequences and may result in felony charges.
In this instance, the Harrisonburg Police Department received tips from the community that proved instrumental in the investigation.
The HPD encourages the use of the tip411 app. The app is designed to assist residents in connecting with HPD, viewing community alerts and submitting anonymous tips. You can also share information with the HPD by texting the key word HPDVA and your message to 847411 (tip411).
Harrisonburg Public Schools also encouraged parents to have a discussion with their children about school violence.
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Crystal Graham
