Charlottesville police arrest 17-year-old for threats that closed schools
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. March 23 2019
After two days of school closures in Charlottesville over an online threat of violence at city schools, the Charlottesville Police Department says they’ve made an arrest.
On Wednesday afternoon, police were made aware of a threat posted online, on the website 4chan, containing racist language targeting African-American and Hispanic students within Charlottesville High School.
In a 1 p.m. press conference on Friday, police told reporters that the threat was posted to 4chan and community members alerted them nearly immediately.
They immediately began investigating, with the help of state and federal partners, and after about 48 hours, determined the source of the threat.
On Friday morning, around 6 a.m., a 17-year-old boy from Albemarle County was charged with threatening to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property (a Class 6 felony) and harassment by computer (a Class 1 misdemeanor).
Police say all nine schools in the district were closed as a precautionary measure, beginning on Thursday morning, and while it may have been inconvenient for a lot of people, Chief Brackney said, “The safety of our students and staff was the top priority for the department, the city, and the school district.”
Charlottesville School Board Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins said the teenager was not a city student. She also told reporters that the school system plans to reopen on Monday.
Brackney says all potential threats made against schools, credible or not, will be taken seriously and will be investigated vigorously.
The Charlottesville Police Department, Virginia State Police, Albemarle County Police Department and FBI were all involved in the investigation.
WHSV
