MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — After a week of threats against schools in the region, including three at Middletown City Schools, a 9-year-old student is facing a felony charge of inducing panic.
The boy was taken into the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center on Tuesday following a Middletown police investigation and charged in juvenile court with a second-degree felony.
According to a court document obtained by WCPO's partners at Journal-News, detectives say the boy sent a threatening Snapchat message through a fifth-grade group chat.
“(The) child said there was going to be a shooting at Middletown City Schools specifically naming Creekview Elementary, Highview, Middletown High School and Mayfield,” said Detective Gary Bender in the complaint.
The detective said the boy admitted to creating a fake Snapchat account and making the threats.
“He stated he wanted to see what kind of reaction he’d get,” Bender said in the complaint.
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The boy remains housed in the juvenile detention following a hearing before a magistrate on Wednesday. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Sept. 20 before Judge Daniel Phillips. A forensic evaluation was also ordered.
Following Tuesday’s threat and arrest, Deborah Houser, school district superintendent posted via social media that the district was made aware of the threat and “immediately collaborated with the Middletown Division of Police, and after a thorough investigation, a student is now facing charges in connection with this incident. Please know the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority.”
On Thursday, Houser said, also in a social media post: “This morning, Middletown City School District (MCSD) was made aware of a social media threat made towards Middletown Middle School. This is the third threat involving MCSD in the last three days, and we understand the concern this creates for our students, staff, and community.”
Houser said every threat is taken seriously and the district has a zero-tolerance policy for threats of violence.
“It is important to note that these threats have been created and shared while students are not in school. We strongly urge all parents to speak with their children about the responsible use of social media and the serious consequences of sharing or reposting threatening messages. Students involved in creating, sharing, or reposting threats will face significant disciplinary action, including legal consequences,” Houser said.
Middletown Police Sgt. Sam Allen said the other threats remain under investigation but pointed to the school shooting on Sept. 4 in Georgia and the anniversary of 9/11 as a time when people are being “extra cautious.”
“The unfortunate thing is anytime things like this happen you have some message that are screenshot and sent around and they end up everywhere,” Allen said. “And so we are probably seeing some of the same ones other people are so I think all the school district and police agencies are just handling them how they individually see is the best way to handle them.”
He said their investigation of threats is a coordinated effort with the schools, department, school resource officers and their sources.
“Sometimes you can prove or disprove something pretty quick and then other times it’s trying to work backwards and sometimes you never get to the start of it,” Allen said. “Unfortunately anytime things like this come up, it creates panic for parents, it creates situations that are tough for the schools to have to deal with and it takes a large number of officers away from departments and their sole focus is on ensuring the safety of the students and the staff.”
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