Long Island Teen Allegedly Made Terrorist Threat Against School, Arrested

An 18-year-old Long Island high school student hass been arrested on Tuesday, facing charges after allegedly making terroristic threats toward students and faculty at his school.

"We take these threats seriously — in light of what's going on in this world, we cannot afford not to," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. "I don't think we can say you're 18 and we didn't find any guns, that means you're never going to get violent. It's too easy to go out and purchase a weapon."

Oketa Orlando Blair Jr. is charged with making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment in the second degree. An Extreme Risk Protection Order was granted by a judge prohibiting Blair Jr. from purchasing any firearms.

The teenager was arrested on Tuesday in Old Westbury after showing "his desire to conduct a violent act towards students and faculty members" at Westbury High School, according to the Nassau County Police Department. Blair Jr. replied to a Twitter post by the district, threatening to shoot up the school. School administration and staff allegedly became aware of the threat and immediately notified the police.

Blair Jr. was arraigned on Wednesday in Hempstead. He then left without speaking to reporters after being released by the judge. He was directed to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. According to the prosecutors, no weapons were found during the police search at his home address.

In a letter to parents sent out Wednesday, the district said definitively that Blair Jr. would not be returning to the school, as the parents of other students feared he could pull a similar threat again.

Another high school student in Suffolk County was previously arrested for threatening to carry out a shooting at his school. The 16-year-old student from Bellport High School, whose name was not released due to his age, reportedly posted on his "Bellport Scholars" Instagram page that there could be a massive shooting at the school on Friday, May 27. The student was arrested on Thursday night, May 26, at his home in Bellport after police received several 911 calls about the post. Fifth Squad detectives did not find any weapons in the house.

The teenager was charged with making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment. "Our legislators need to fix this disastrous 'bail reform.' I am convening a School Safety Summit here in Suffolk County with parents, teachers, school officials, law enforcement and my office to work on improving our response to school safety threats and keeping our kids safe," said District Attorney Raymond Tierney.