Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Phoenix police: social‑media school threats are crimes; 14‑year‑old arrested after Snapchat tip
Summary
Phoenix Police investigators said online threats to schools can constitute terroristic threats and other felonies. In a recent case, investigators used platform data and precinct technology to identify and arrest a 14‑year‑old within 24 hours, officials said. Police urged parents to monitor students’ online activity.
Phoenix Police Department investigators said online threats against schools are criminal and can lead to felony charges, and that they identified and arrested a 14‑year‑old within a day in a recent Snapchat threat.
Sergeant Kane Kimball, Violent Crimes Sergeant for the Phoenix Police Department, said the suspect was arrested “within less than 24 hours after the threat was received.” He described the conduct as “making a terroristic threat,” and added that “having a class 3 felony in your permanent record is not a joke.”
Police provided a timeline and investigative detail to show how quickly platforms and precinct technology can lead to identification. Kimball said Snapchat provided investigators, within several hours, the username, the email address, account‑creation date, phone number, birth date and a recently used IP address for the account. That information, he said, allowed investigators to obtain GPS coordinates for the device and narrow the location “to within plus or minus 5 meters.”
Kimball said the threat in this case was posted on Snapchat and involved a student warning that a classmate planned to shoot the school during the day. He told the interviewer the report prompted an immediate investigation and that the device location information helped guide responding officers. He said the 14‑year‑old was arrested on “numerous felony offenses,” with the leading offense described as the terroristic‑threat charge.
Officials described the tools used at the Cactus Park Precinct, including a “real time crime center” that tracks patrol locations and active calls for service; Kimball said investigators use similar technologies when probing school threats. Police also emphasized the broader community impact of hoax and real threats: Kimball said such reports can force schools to close and cause road closures, affecting families and neighbors.
Police urged families and students to treat online threats seriously. Kimball told parents, “Be aware of who your kids are on line. Be aware of the content they’re posting. This is not a joke. This is a crime, and it’s a crime that we aggressively pursue. If you do this and we catch you, you will go to jail.” He added broader advice to “think about what you post” and the online persona people create.
Police said social‑media platforms cooperate with law‑enforcement requests for account and device information. Investigators declined to provide additional identifying details about the arrested juvenile, citing the age and ongoing case status.
The Phoenix Police Department reiterated that every threat is treated seriously and that rapid digital forensics, platform cooperation and precinct analytic tools can shorten investigative timelines and lead to early arrests in some cases.
