LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A 12-year-old boy was arrested for making school shooting threats on social media after students reported the threats to police and Safe2Tell, police said Thursday.
The boy made threats of a planned school shooting at Creighton Middle School in Lakewood near Kipling Street and 6th Avenue, said Lakewood Police. They said the social media threats also included a picture of what looked like a handgun.
Police said the suspect is not a current or former student at the middle school and previously lived in Lakewood, but now lives in Denver and attends Denver Public Schools.
During the investigation, police recovered a "realistic-looking fake handgun." Because the suspect is a juvenile, police are not releasing their name.
Charges against the child include interference with staff, faculty or students of educational institutions – credible threat, and harassment.
The police have had school resource officers and patrol agents giving extra attention to the Creighton campus.
"We empathize with all of the concerned parents and Creighton families and are proud to work with them to help resolve this case," said Agent Robert Albrets.
Police said the investigation was a collaborative effort, "I want to express how this investigation was really a team effort with students, Creighton families, Jeffco Public Schools staff, R1, Safe2Tell and our hard-working school resource officers and juvenile detectives. Between them, the school and Jeffco Public Schools."
Creighton's principal, Nick Kemmer, sent out a letter to parents about the threats, assuring that the incident was found to be "non-credible."
UPDATE #2
May 11, 2023
Dear Creighton Middle School staff and families,
I am writing this letter in partnership with Jeffco’s Executive Director of School Safety, Jeff Pierson.
This is a second update regarding the social media threat from May 10.
Last night additional social media threats were posted that mentioned students' names and location. We understand this is very disturbing. We want to reiterate that the incident continues to be investigated by Jeffco’s Department of School Safety and the Lakewood Police Department and is believed to be non-credible. The Lakewood Police Department has engaged their cybersecurity detectives to identify the source of these threats. Unfortunately, these social media threats have occurred at a handful of our schools across the district.
The Lakewood Police Department will have 2-3 officers stationed around our school today and the Jeffco R-1 officers will also be onsite.
I simply want to reiterate that school safety is, and always will be, our number one priority at Creighton. There are great things happening in our building every day yet nothing is prioritized higher than safety. We need students to continue to be vigilant and always share information with parents and staff members. That is one of the great strengths of our community.
We are grateful for our local law enforcement’s response including our SRO, Detective Kennadee Bleak, who continues to support our school community.
Thank you for your partnership and understanding. We look forward to seeing all students at school today.
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