ST. LOUIS – Following a deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, several St. Louis area schools reported hoax threats.
“These are easy to investigate,” said Jay Greenberg, special agent in charge for the St. Louis office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “We will eventually find whoever is behind a threat and hold them accountable.”
Greenberg said arrests were made in the St. Louis area and beyond following a spike in hoax threats after a deadly school shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis.
“If we bring charges federally, it will be a felony that will stick on somebody’s record for the rest of their life,” Greenberg said.
There is also the emotional toll a fake threat can cause.
“This traumatizes every family that’s associated with that school or community,” Greenberg said.
He encourages the parents of any child with a smart device to have a conversation about the consequences resulting from a fake threat. The FBI also wants anyone who spots a threat on social media to report the information to authorities.
You can hear from someone who was caught making a hoax threat in a U.S. Department of Justice public service announcement here.