MESQUITE, Nev. — Six juveniles have been charged with threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a pupil or school employee by means of electronic communication.
Authorities said although the charges stem from an alleged dare and posed no actual threat of harm, they are not taking the allegations lightly.
The Mesquite Police Department was made aware of a threat made via social media Sunday regarding students attending Virgin Valley High School, according to a media statement issued by the Mesquite Police Department Monday.
Mesquite Police officers immediately began an investigation into the reported threat and conducted interviews with multiple students and their parents.
“The investigation determined the threat was posted on social media as a dare from one student to another,” police said in the statement, “and posed no actual threat of harm or violence to any students, faculty or facilities.”
Notwithstanding, the students involved were not let off the hook.
“Due to the seriousness of making such threats to our schools and the fear it could have caused,” police said, “one juvenile suspect was taken into custody.”
Five other juvenile suspects were cited on a misdemeanor criminal charge and released into the custody of their parents. The names of those involved will not be released due to their juvenile status.
One juvenile male suspect from Mesquite was arrested and charged with one gross misdemeanor count of threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a pupil or school employee by means of oral, written or electronic communication.
The juvenile was transported and booked into the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center.
The five other juvenile suspects were each individually charged with one misdemeanor count of threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a pupil or school employee by means of oral, written or electronic communication.
“The police department takes all types of threats to our community seriously,” Mesquite Police said. “Thankfully no legitimate danger of violence existed in this situation.”
The Mesquite Police Department is reminding people who find suspicious or threatening posts on social media to immediately contact police.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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While I understand it was a dare and there isn’t much to do in Mesquite, at least the police didn’t wait for someone to actually get hurt or die this time. So this was a good ending after all.