Adult accused of threatening Las Vegas school shooting in Instagram posts

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An adult is accused of threatening a mass shooting at a Las Vegas middle school in a series of Instagram posts, leading to his arrest and an increased security presence, police said.

Joshua Ramos, whose birth year indicates he was 33 or 34 at the time of his arrest last week, faces one charge of making threats or conveying false information concerning acts of terrorism, records said.

On Sunday, Sept. 22, Metro police received a report from Meta Platforms – the owner of Facebook and Instagram – that a user made posts “indicating they planned to commit a mass shooting at a local Las Vegas middle school,” documents said.

The user said they would “shoot and kill all teachers and students” at Tarkanian Middle School in the southwest valley, documents said. The post also contained racial slurs and a threat against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Police tracked the user’s IP address to Ramos, they said. Officers later spoke with Ramos at his house.

“Immediately, prior to [telling] Joshua anything about the nature of our conversation, Joshua indicated he was probably getting arrested,” documents said, “Joshua indicated he may have posted some things online that would get him in trouble.”

Ramos reportedly told police he made the posts because he was mad over several life events, documents said. In regard to Tarkanian Middle School, Ramos said he named the school because it was close to his house and a family member attended.

Ramos said he did not intend to carry out the threat but “made the posts knowing others would be alarmed and scared,” documents said. Even so, Clark County School District police had additional officers at the school the following day.

Ramos posted bond and was due to return to court on Oct. 31.

The charge carries a potential sentence of 2-20 years in prison and a fine.

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