Caln Police arrested a local student following a threat — which the student later claimed to be a joke — of a school shooting in the Coatesville Area School District, Thursday.
The threat led to an early dismissal of schools in favor of remote learning as local police worked to assess the threat.
It started at 7 a.m., when Caln Police Department was made aware of a tip that was submitted to a tip line at a neighboring police agency regarding a threatening post on social media regarding an intended shooting incident at an unspecified Coatesville Area School District building.
The post included what police described as a racially motivated undertone. Members of the Caln Police Criminal Investigation Unit immediately coordinated with the Coatesville Area School District Police Department. By 5:00 p.m. that day, Caln Police investigators were able to identify the source of the post, who was identified as a teenage (juvenile) CASO student. The student admitted to creating the post and reportedly told investigators it was intended as a “joke.” The student is being charged criminally.
Caln police added this note to the statement issued Friday:
“The Caln Police Department takes this opportunity to remind the community of the importance of responsible use of social media by all users, adult and children alike. Parents are strongly encouraged to use this as a teaching moment with their children.
“Threats, especially those directed toward schools, will never be treated lightly, or as a “joke” by law enforcement. If you see concerning posts, such as in this case of school violence, please preserve the image or text and notify authorities right away in lieu of re–posting on social media outlets. Avenues to make prompt reports to authorities would be to call 911 or to make a report to the Safe2Say platform which is monitored 24/7. Police departmental tip lines are often not monitored 24/7 and are intended for tips regarding criminal activity that does not entail an imminent threat to community safety.”
