A 14-year-old home-school student faced arrest in St. Tammany Parish after being linked to threatening text messages sent to students of a Covington-area private high school, officials reported yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, the juvenile was brought into custody and issued a summons for terrorizing yesterday, marking a swift response to reports of harassment via unknown phone communications.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office stated to WWL-TV that the incidents began Tuesday when a student reported alarming texts that threatened violence and included a picture of an armed individual. This was soon followed by another similar report yesterday morning from a second student, who received threats from the same unknown number. Authorities quickly homed in on the source, leading to an evening arrest.
The investigation, handed over to the sheriff's office Persons Crimes Unit, concluded with an admission by the 14-year-old suspect. "The female admitted to sending the messages in attempts to scare the victims and had no intention to carry out the threats made," the FOX 8 Live report cited. Furthermore, the photo sent with the threats was identified as a stock image available online, and the teen was found to have had no access to firearms.
"We have made it very clear that we will take threats like this seriously," Sheriff Randy Smith told WDSU News. The sheriff also emphasized the role of parents in guiding their young, “We will continue to work with our schools and investigate any and all threats. Parents, I urge you to please speak with your children about the seriousness of making threatening statements even if they have no intentions on acting on them.”
