A 12-year-old has been charged for allegedly making terroristic threats, causing public false alarms and being involved in cyber-harassment in Burlington County, New Jersey. On Dec. 15 Maple Shade Police Department received multiple reports about the threats being made against a high school's community.
Concerned parents and officials of the Maple Shade High School community reported about the threats. A similar threat rumor was reported, which became viral on TikTok wherein at least a dozen students were arrested.
"On December 15th and throughout the evening hours, the Maple Shade Police Department received a number of reports from concerned parents who believed there were threats being made against the Maple Shade High School community by unknown actors," police in the town outside of Philadelphia said in a statement. Administrators for the Maple Shade School District were also reported to be receiving and handling the same complaints from students, parents and staff.
According to the police they were able to trace and identify some of the threats pointing to the 12-year-old being responsible for some of these social media accounts which disseminated threats. Authorities stated they are still working to identify anyone else who may have been involved.
"It is apparent that this is not just a Maple Shade issue, but an issue that is affecting many towns in New Jersey and many states throughout our country. This agency will continue its investigation into this incident in an effort to identify any additional actor(s) that may have been involved," said the Maple Shade Police Department in a statement.
The juvenile is not being identified due to being a minor. The child has been charged with terroristic threats, false public alarms and cyber harassment.
"Protecting the safety and security of our children, their learning environment and the staff members that make this all happen is of the utmost importance to our agency and that was reflected in our presence at each of our schools within the district during this time," authorities stated. Police officials and authorities are reminding parents and guardians of the importance of teaching children the correct and appropriate use of social media.
