Deputies track down Burney student who claimed they were going to “shoot up the whole school” – Determine threat “not credible”
BURNEY, Calif., — Burney parents, students, and teachers alike are breathing a sigh of relief tonight after learning hours ago that a social media threat made toward Burney High School and its students was deemed not credible by sheriff’s officials. That determination was made after deputies tracked down the student who made the threat and determined they had no means of carrying out the attack.
The student who made the threat, which claimed he/she was going to “shoot up the whole school” and went on to name several intended targets, will not be allowed to return to the campus, according to Fall River Joint Unified School District Superintendent Merrill Grant.
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Word of the threat began to spread like a social media wildfire throughout the Intermountain area town of Burney on Saturday, when a person using a fake Snapchat account contacted a female Burney High School student using the name “Lucas Hustle”.
The recipient of the threatening message was able to capture images of the conversation, at least a portion of which was soon shared to Facebook’s Burney’s on Blast – a social media page for Burney and Intermountain area residents, intended to act as a sounding board and instant alert for all things related to the small town of just 3,200.
Acting quickly, FRJUSD and Burney High School administrators worked with local deputies to identify and locate a student alleged to have sent a threatening message to a classmate, threatening to “shoot up the whole school” and others on Saturday. Burney’s on Blast/Facebook image
The shared portion of the message, which was sent to a student believed to be a female, read in-part, “Because (I’m) going (to) shoot up the whole school on Monday”. The message then went on to name the recipient’s boyfriend, as well as five other students as intended targets of the planned shooting. Three of those specifically named had the same last name and were believed to be related.
Although school was closed for the day, word of the threat quickly spread and within hours both school and district administrators had been notified. They in turn notified deputies assigned to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Burney Patrol Station.
In a message sent out to the community by both social media as well as via telephone messages to parents this afternoon, FRJUSD Superintendent Grant shed new light on the subject, which up until this afternoon had many parents throughout the area saying they were intending on keeping their children home from school – some for the day, others for the entire week, or at least until the person who made the threat had been identified.
Hoping to calm those parents’ – and their childrens’ – nerves, Grant laid out a timeline of the prior 24-hour period’s events saying, “Last evening school officials were notified that a fake Snapchat account was created by an individual who made threats of gun violence against students at Burney High School for this Monday. Law enforcement was immediately notified, and the Sheriff was able to trace the account back to a student at the school.”
Grant’s message went on to explain that after tracking down the true name and identity of the person who created the fake account and sent the messages, investigating deputies visited the juvenile’s home where they interviewed both the minor as well as the student’s parents.
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“After conducting their investigation, law enforcement notified the district that they believe there is no ‘credible threat’ to the school,” the superintendent continued; adding, “The student in question will not return to Burney High School and will face the appropriate disciplinary consequences.”
Neither the student’s name nor gender have been released.
Grant went on to thank the students, parents, and school employees who brought the threat to the district’s attention, while also thanking the sheriff’s department for their “timely resolution” to their investigation.
Both Burney High as well as Burney Elementary administrators have indicated that additional law enforcement and other resources would be at the two campuses on Monday, to ensure a smooth and productive day for the students.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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