West Valley school deputy arrests 13-year-old girl suspected of making social media threats on a dare
A West Valley School District resource deputy arrested a 13-year-old City School student suspected of making social media threats as a dare on a felony charge Thursday morning.
Three students received a threatening social media message and reported it to school staff Monday afternoon, according to a news release. The messages included the date of Feb. 10.
School Deputy Ed Cashman and school district officials investigated the threat with the assistance of major crimes detectives, the news release said.
Investigators learned that the 13-year-old suspect was also one of the three students who reported the threat.
Officials identified the student Wednesday, district spokeswoman Sue Shields said. The school told families the student admitted to posting the threat on social media and was “emergency expelled.”
About 220 students in grades 5 through 8 attend City School, according to the district website. Its curriculum focuses on experiential learning, and students have to sign a contract before they are admitted.
City School gave parents daily updates about the investigation but students did not notice changes to their daily routine, according to district Spokeswoman Sue Shields. She said the school informed parents that students who stayed home would be excused.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority,” Shields said. “We took it very, very seriously.”
The sheriff’s office does not believe there was a plan to harm anyone, and information from the investigation indicates the threats may have been part of a dare, according to spokesman Cpl. Mark Gregory. He said the sheriff’s office is not releasing the details of the alleged threats because the investigation is ongoing.
The student was arrested for threatening to bomb or injure property, a felony, and was booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center, according to a news release. The Spokane County Sheriff’s office cited a state law that says a legal defense cannot be “that the threatened bombing or injury was a hoax.”
Gregory said the sheriff’s office has arrested juveniles on the same charge before. A 15-year-old was arrested for making a threat on social media regarding Central Valley High School in November. He also told deputies his message was a joke.
The crime carries the possibility of imprisonment for up to 30 days, community supervision for up to a year, community service and a fine up to $500.
An 11-year-old was arrested in 2018 following threats made on Instagram targeting two students attending Trentwood and South Pines elementary schools.
“Making threats of harming a school or classmates at school can have criminal implications,” Gregory said. “It doesn’t matter if you said it as a joke or not, you can’t spread fear.”
Gregory noted that ominous messages found on a bathroom stall at East Valley High in November did not mention specific threats and could not be charged like the case at City School or Central Valley. A message discovered in a Central Valley High bathroom prompted a school closure the same day the East Valley message was found.
“What we’re hoping is parents will talk to children,” Gregory said. Making threats of harm, he added, is “not acceptable. It causes fear among the school and the community. And it’s something that needs to stop.”