Two students charged over school threats

CROWN POINT, Ind. (WISH) — Two Lake County juveniles are facing felony intimidation charges for allegedly making school shooting threats.

On Sunday, a deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was made aware of a 14-year-old girl from Gary who reportedly posted a threatening comment to a TikTok video. The girl told investigators she was viewing a video on TikTok and posted a comment about shooting at a school. The girl stated that she couldn’t remember what the exact statement was, and that it did not mention a specific school or student. When questioned, relatives of the girl confirmed that she had told them about the comment.

The deputy learned the FBI had been looking into the incident and found the account where the post was made. The comment was tracked to a phone at a Gary address. The account originally displaying the comment has since been banned from TikTok.

The 14-year-old girl was placed into the custody of the Lake County Juvenile Center and preliminarily charged with felony intimidation.

At 3:15 p.m. Monday, a deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to a school in Lowell, Indiana, on a report of a threat of a school shooting that had been made on a school bus. School administration provided surveillance video from a school bus where a male juvenile can be heard saying, “ABCD shooting up the school.” The bus driver can also be heard notifying the student who made the remark that he was on camera. The student can then be seen waving at the camera.

Investigators later located the 11-year-old boy accused of making the comment. When officers asked him what he meant by his statement on the bus, he explained that he had said, “ABCD Glock 19 shoot up the school. Act like a fool.” The boy stated that it was a joke and that he had made a rhyme. He said that he didn’t think what he said was serious. The boy said he had recently watched a TikTok video about people making threats against schools.

The 11-year-old boy, of Hebron, Indiana, is being preliminarily charged with felony intimidation.

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