HOUSTON – A 16-year-old student at a Galena Park high school has been arrested and accused of making a threat against his school.
Galena Park Independent School District officials said the North Shore High School sophmore made the threat on Twitter. However, investigators said they do not believe the student had the ability to carry out the threat and the school is safe.
The FBI spotted the post and notified Harris County Precinct 3 deputy constables, who took the sophomore into custody at his home Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. The suspect's name was not released.
Deputies said the teen asked on Twitter, "Who wants to help me blow up the school tomorrow?" More than 50 people commented on the Tweet, which was made at 8:45 p.m. Monday. The teen told deputies that he did not want to attend school.
"People who were tweeting back were saying, basically, 'You're stupid. You're going to get in trouble," Capt. John Moore said. "His response, basically, was, paraphrasing, 'I don't care.'"
Some students said they didn't think the threat was serious.
"I think he was just kidding. I don't think he was taking it seriously," said Chris Trevino, a friend of the suspect. "I know he wouldn't do something like that."
The student was charged with a terroristic threat, a felony.
"Galena Park ISD is asking parents and guardians to take a moment to remind students to be mindful of what they post to their social media sites. While these sites are great tools for communication, posting certain comments are against the law and can be hurtful to others or themselves," the district said in a statement.