Placer County student arrested after Instagram post threatens high school shooting
Police in Placer County arrested a 16-year-old student from Lincoln suspected of posting an Instagram video this week that claimed a shooting could occur at Twelve Bridges High School.
The teen was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of making criminal threats and booked at the Placer County Juvenile Hall, according to a news release from the Lincoln Police Department.
Police said the boy did not have any guns or weapons in his possession when he was taken into custody. The Police Department did not release the boy’s name because he is a minor.
About 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Police Department was made aware of images and a video posted on an Instagram account that indicated a school shooting may occur at Twelve Bridges High. A police resource officer assigned full-time to the campus, along with detectives, launched an investigation.
With help from the FBI, detectives obtained identifying information of the person who created the Instagram account and posted the threatening images and video, police said.
On Wednesday, detectives obtained additional information and determined the Twelve Bridges student created the Instagram account and posted the images, according to the Police Department. Investigators found the teen at the school and arrested him.
“As evidenced in this investigation, the Lincoln Police Department takes incidents of this nature extremely seriously and will utilize all legal avenues, technology and outside resources to identify and hold accountable individuals who threaten the safety of students,” police officials said in the news release. “There is no place for violence in our schools. Conduct which threatens the actual or perceived safety of students will not be tolerated.”
The Placer County arrest occurred on the same day Sacramento County sheriff’s school resource officers arrested two Laguna Creek High School students in connection with Instagram posts threatening a shooting at their Elk Grove campus. The 16-year-old students were each cited with a misdemeanor charge and left in the care of their families with a promise to appear in court, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The Laguna Creek High threats were later deemed to be unfounded, but they prompted sheriff’s deputies to increase their numbers at the high school campus Monday and Tuesday.
Sheriff’s Lt. Cary Trzcinski, who supervises the school resource team contracted to provide security at Elk Grove Unified School District campuses, said on Monday the Sheriff’s Office will now more regularly submit information to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether prosecution is necessary when a student has been identified as someone making online threats.
The Police Department asked anyone with information about the Twelve Bridges High threat to call Detective Cody Sober at 916-645-4073 or cody.sober@lincolnca.gov.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
