Snapchat Threat Targets High School In Prince George's County: UPDATES

(Updated at 2:35 p.m. Monday): GREENBELT, MD — School officials at Eleanor Roosevelt High School stepped up security Monday after a social media threat circulated among students. Police spoke with the student and deemed the threat is non-credible as of Monday afternoon.

The threat was allegedly spread through the app Snapchat and warned students not to come to school on Monday, according to reports. The threat did not directly mention the school by name.

Prince George's County Police announced Monday afternoon that they identified the high school student who posted the threat. The threat was deemed non-credible after a thorough investigation, police said. The student told police that the photographed weapon in the social media threat was a BB gun.

Fox 5 reported the threat showed a photo of what appeared to be an assault rifle, a magazine and a pipe, prompting Principal Reginald McNeil to call for extra police presence at the school Monday.

“Although this threat wasn’t credible, this department takes all such threats seriously and works aggressively to identify the sender," Deputy Chief Raphael Grant, Bureau of Administration & Homeland Security, said in a statement. "We urge all citizens, both young and old, to please think before sending such posts.

"While the sender may not have a criminal intent behind the post, this department, the school system and this community take them seriously," Grant said.

Police were first alerted of the threat Sunday evening and investigated overnight.

Patch will update this post as more information becomes available.

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