Man Arrested After Threatening To Blow Up Elementary School On Social Media

A Washington teen was arrested after he allegedly threatened to bomb an elementary school on June 21.

The 19-year-old, Thomas Gabbard, had gone on Instagram Live and claimed that he was a gang member, reported Fox News. But a viewer who was watching him live insisted that Gabbard was not a gang member. Then the suspect responded by saying that he was “going to pull up and bomb a school,” said police. During the live stream, no school or location was mentioned, but Gabbard went on to claim that he had bombs in his possession.

Soon, the person who was watching the stream became concerned and called the cops regarding Gabbard’s online threats. The viewer also told cops that Gabbard called him using the phone number on the viewer’s account, and he said that the call lasted approximately two minutes. During the call, the viewer tried to get information from Gabbard on the unnamed school he had previously talked about. But Gabbard did not give any information on the school and continued calling the viewer “racially derogatory names, said the Instagram user.

Gabbard had many active Facebook and Instagram profiles, the viewer told cops. According to police reports, a search into his criminal history showed that he had a juvenile conviction. It prohibited him from legally possessing firearms. Police found three specific photos on Gabbard’s various social media profiles. In the photos, he was seen holding firearms -- two pistols and a rifle.

Many armed personnel and officers arrived at Gabbard’s residence and served a high-risk search warrant. A Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team arrested him without incident, but no explosives or firearms were found at the scene.

New York Post reported that the teen's arrest came just a few weeks after Salvador Ramos shot and killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in Texas.

As for Gabbard, he said in an interview with police that he was not serious about blowing up a school. The teen also denied possessing any firearms or explosives. He insisted that the firearms shown in his social media posts were air powered, and he later admitted that the rifle shown in his post was taken at his sister’s home. At the time he knew he was not allowed to possess a firearm per his conviction. He also admitted that his claim of being a gang member was false.