Use tough penalties; make IDs public in school threats

We urge school officials to press charges in all school threat cases and seek maximum penalties.

Add Greater Johnstown to the list of local school districts that have been forced to respond to a threat of violence.

A student was arrested Sunday after posting a threatening message on Snapchat, school officials said. The post featured a teenager holding a gun.

Community members saw the social media post and alerted school district officials, and the student was quickly placed in the custody of Johnstown Police Department officers.

“Our district community deserves a lot of credit,” Greater Johnstown Assistant Superintendent Amy Arcurio said. “People picked up the phone and reached out to us right away.”

Arcurio told reporter David Hurst: “‘If you see something, say something’ proved true today and, again, we are appreciative of the immediate response by the Johnstown Police Department and the school community.” That’s the good news. The bad news is how frequently this type of crime is committed. And yes, posting a message that threatens violence is a crime.

Arcurio said police told her the student’s Snapchat video was “meant as a joke.”

Fortunately, school officials, the police and local residents didn’t laugh off the post.

“We can’t and don’t take this kind of thing lightly,” Arcurio added. “When something like this happens ... it’s treated as a serious threat to school safety.”

School safety is certainly not a humorous subject.

— Not after Columbine; Sandy Hook; Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; Parkland, Florida — and so many other scenes of tragedy.

— Not after a threat — fabricated by a student — caused chaos at a dance two weeks ago in Bedford.

— Not after 11 separate threats at 10 area school districts in February — including a student’s pledge of a mass shooting at Shade-Central City High School’s 2018 graduation ceremony.

— Not after a pair of threats closed Westmont Hilltop School District in December. And on and on. We urge school officials to press charges in all cases and seek maximum penalties.

And we recommend that the identities of students who make threats of violence be made public regardless of the juvenile status of the offenders.

While the community has gotten the message that a threat such as the one Sunday at Greater Johnstown is not a joke, some students apparently still need a somber reminder.