High school student arrested after shooting threat on social media
DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. – “He’s just not like a school kid,” said Alexis Hayward, a student at North Dorchester High School.
“He’s more like a homebody,” said Alexis.
Alexis says she is in disbelief after she found out that one of her classmates got arrested after threatening to possibly shoot up North Dorchester High School on Monday.
She says many parents feared for their kids’ lives.
“They felt unsafe and parents were worried that something was going to happen,” said Alexis.
School officials warned parents about the threat shortly after many of them had already seen several pictures with threatening messages the student had shared on Snapchat over the weekend.
The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office says they searched the student’s home, but they say no weapons were found.
“He had a picture of a handgun, a picture of an assault-type weapon and he was holding a picture of him holding a shotgun,” said Dorchester County Sheriff James Phillips.
Some parents tell us they are upset because they felt the school district took too long to bring attention to the situation.
They say their kids would have never gone to school on Monday if they would have known sooner.
“We learned everything off of social media and we didn’t have anything from the school until well over an hour later and that was kind of upsetting because I had already taken my daughter and son to school,” said Chuckie Hayward.
School officials tell us the Sheriff’s Office informed them about the threats being made around 6 AM on Monday and that their ultimate goal is to make sure that everyone is safe moving forward.
“We are truly frustrated and concerned and wish to make school just a positive, wonderful atmosphere,” said Beth Wilson, director of operations at Dorchester County Public Schools.
47ABC asked Sheriff James Phillips about where the teen could have gotten the guns in the pictures, but he says that information cannot be released because this incident is still under investigation.
