SLO County high school student arrested after posting threat on social media, police say
A Morro Bay High School student was arrested on campus Wednesday after publishing a threatening social media post, according to the Morro Bay Police Department.
Morro Bay High School administrators contacted the Morro Bay Police Department around 7:45 a.m. regarding a tip sent to the school’s text-to-tip line that included a screenshot of a safety threat to “everyone on campus” posted to a student’s social media, Morro Bay Police Chief Amy Watkins told The Tribune.
School administrators contacted the student prior to the beginning of the school day and asked to report them to the front office, police said.
The student cooperated, Watkins said, and police began investigating after the school completed its investigation.
A “comprehensive threat assessment” determined there were no further threats to students or staff, Morro Bay police said in a Wednesday news release.
Watkins said the student was arrested around 10:45 a.m. and transported to Juvenile Hall on suspicion of two charges: criminal threats and criminal threats to public employees.
Morro Bay High provides a text-to-tip hotline that allows individuals to report concerns on campus discreetly, Watkins said. Flyers with a QR code and the number can be found throughout campus.
Watkins encourages parents to have a serious talk with their children to help them understand the gravity of making any kind of threat, noting that making verbal, written and social media threats is illegal and comes with serious criminal charges.
“With the potential threats and violence we see on campuses and mass shootings every day we have no other option but to investigate these,” Watkins said. “We will take every single (threat) seriously and charge to fullest extent of the law.”
The Morro Bay Police Department asks anyone with additional information to call 805-772- 6225 or San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP(7867).
