14-year-old charged with making threats

Officials say juvenile targeted 3 individuals through Safe2Say app

A 14-year-old has been charged with making terroristic threats and other crimes after authorities said the teen made several false threats through the Safe2Say Something app that closed Quakertown schools.

Quakertown police charged the juvenile Friday following an investigation into several threats that came through the app since January. Two threats in March mentioned violence and explosives, forcing officials to close Strayer Middle School and Quakertown Community High School while officers and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the grounds.

The juvenile’s name was not released. The case will be handled in Bucks County’s juvenile court. The teen is charged with five counts each of terroristic threats, false reports to law enforcement, disorderly conduct and false reports on the Safe2Say app, all misdemeanors.

Police say that on seven dates in January and February, the

juvenile targeted three individuals in the false reports, claiming they were either going to harm themselves or others.

This is the second recent arrest of someone accused of using the Safe2Say app to make a false report. On March 24, an 18-yearold woman was charged with using the app to send a tip that someone was going to bomb and shoot up Upper Bucks County Technical School, forcing the closure of that school, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.

“If you are thinking of misusing or abusing the Safe2Say app, let these two arrests serve as your warning,” Weintraub said. “If you abuse or misuse the Safe2Say app for improper reasons, law enforcement is committed to tracking you down, and you will be held accountable for your criminal conduct.”

Although the app has been criticized by some for allowing school threats to become “weaponized,” Weintraub said the application has been overwhelmingly successful in preventing suicides and other dangerous situations.

“Safe2Say has led us to expose potential harms before they occur, and that’s the whole goal, to keep our kids safe in school,” he said. “I’m a huge proponent and believer in the Safe2Say program. It works, it saves lives and it’s doing what it’s designed to do.”

Quakertown police Chief Scott McElree said the arrests were the result of hundreds of hours of investigation by Quakertown detectives and school resource officer Bob Lee, with help from the district attorney, state police, FBI, Richland Township police and Quakertown Community School District.

“I am especially impressed with the willingness of the brave students who came forwarded to provide vital information that helped in the success of the investigation,” Lee said.

Launched in 2019, Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office. The phone app is used in all schools throughout the state, so students can anonymously submit reports of unsafe activities or threats.

“Safe2Say serves as an incredibly powerful tool in helping get students the assistance they need and report potential threats to themselves, their communities and their schools,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “False tips, like those of this individual, account for a small fraction of the tips we receive but ultimately make it harder for young people to get the help they need.”