BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police say a 15-year-old boy is in custody in relation to a threatening post on social media on Sunday.
The post threatened to shoot up various Buffalo schools, per police.
“It was an Instagram post that was created where somebody had threatened to shoot up multiple high schools,” explained Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
Commissioner Gramaglia told me his department's Threat Management Unit was able to quickly track down a teenage boy who they say created the threatening post.
After several interviews and a search of his home, authorities don't think these threats were credible.
“They were able to determine a source of the post. They conducted interviews, which ultimately led to a consensual search of the residence, which led to the arrest of a 15-year-old. The family was very cooperative and fortunately, we were able to make a quick arrest on this,” replied Commissioner Gramaglia.
Five schools were named in the social media post including McKinley, Burgard, Waterfront, Health Sciences Charter School and South Park.
A spokesperson for Buffalo Public Schools said there would be increased security and law enforcement in and around BPS schools on Monday.
Outside South Park and McKinley, I found a police presence Monday.
“Increased presence throughout the day, even after we're able to make an arrest yesterday evening, we still move forward with our plan to have that additional presence at the schools,” noted Commissioner Gramaglia.
Police said they don't believe the threats were credible, but the teen is facing charges.
“I think a lot of our students don't realize how seriously these threats will be taken and what the consequences are when they post things like this and they need to be extremely careful before they do these sorts of things,” remarked Jessica Bauer Walker.
Bauer Walker works directly with teens in city schools as the leader of the Buffalo Schools Parents and Student Community Health Worker Association.
She tells me it’s time to get to the "root causes" of this behavior.
"We're not doing better with the violence. the students are not okay. youth mental health is at a crisis level,” described Bauer Walker.
"I've got children, grandchildren in those schools. I mean you got to take it seriously. But you also got to at some point, do some kind of root cause analysis. You got to understand where this is coming from,” noted Sam Radford, We the Parents.
Radford said he doesn't believe charging the teen will truly address the problem.
“It is better to look at it more of a case study. What is going on with the child? And what can we do to make sure, one; child continues to get an education, two; we could take this situation and we can look at the pervasive problem with social media,” Radford said. “I hope we can get more proactive and less reactive.”
The police commissioner says investigators learned the teen created the social media post to make it look like the threat came from someone as retaliation for being bullied.
“This person had actually created a post for somebody else, so making it as though somebody else we're going to do this there's, you know, some issues behind the scenes related to some threats and some bullying with this person. and, this individual, I think just got so fed up that it really was led to believe that they were trying to get this other individual in trouble,” commented Commissioner Gramaglia. “A threat like this, because of an incident that has been occurring with this particular person with another individual, led them to lash out. They put this post out, and now you've got the police department on edge. You've got the school administration on edge. You've got the school board on edge, you've got the families on edge, and it really spreads like wildfire.”
Bauer Walker tells me it’s very challenging for parents, especially those with teens to monitor their social media use and the many platforms.
“We're in a really new and interesting time we see our students getting in trouble for posting things on social media, even though they don't have to relate to the schools for getting in fights out in the community and so, I think we're trying to understand what the reach of the schools is, how the schools are working with law enforcement in families and just how these systems intersect,” replied Bauer Walker.
Crisis team counselors will be available for students who need someone to talk to.
The Buffalo Public School District issued this statement:
The Buffalo Public Schools is aware that a 15-year-old has been taken into custody by the Buffalo Police in connection with social media threats made towards several BPS schools. The Buffalo Police do not believe there was an intent to follow through on the posted threats. However, out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased security and law enforcement presence in and around BPS schools tomorrow.
In addition to the existing full-time Student Support Team members at BPS schools, the district will provide crisis team counselors for students who may wish to speak with someone about the posted threats.
The Buffalo Public Schools also thank the Buffalo Police Department for working diligently to alleviate this threat. For more information, please contact the Buffalo Police Department directly.
The teen has been charged with multiple misdemeanors by the Buffalo Police Department's Threat Management Unit.
There are also other violence concerns in Buffalo schools.
Just last week 7 News spoke with a Buffalo school parent who sent disturbing videos of violence breaking out inside the hallway of McKinley High School. She was calling on the Buffalo Public School District to address the problem that she says is a common occurrence.
WATCH: 'The videos are horrific': Parent calls on Buffalo Schools to address McKinley High School violence
Superintendent Williams spoke to 7 News on Friday and responded to videos of student violence. You can watch her response below.
