Juvenile faces charges in school threat

A teen faces an inducing panic charge after making a threat against Willoughby-Eastlake Schools last week.

A 16-year-old is facing an inducing panic charge after allegedly making a threat against Willoughby-Eastlake Schools last week.

Eastlake police arrested the suspect in Willowick around 2 a.m., March 7.

In a message to district parents, Willoughby-Eastlake Superintendent Steve Thompson said a threat was made late March 6 on social media. The post allegedly stated that North and South high schools would be “shot up.”

The post was reported to the Eastlake and Willoughby police departments. Eastlake police handled the main investigation with the help of South’s student resource officer, Eastlake Det. Sgt. Derrick Stewart said. Willoughby police and Willowick police were also involved in the investigation, Thompson said.

Stewart said the juvenile suspect is a student in the school district. In addition to the second-degree felony inducing panic charge, he is also charged with misdemeanors of making false alarms and aggravated menacing. The case is being handled in the Lake County Juvenile Court.

Thompson told parents to remind their children that threats made against the schools are taken seriously and the “persons making them can be, and generally are, prosecuted by law enforcement agencies.”

“Willoughby-Eastlake does not, and will not, tolerate threats against our schools and our students,” Thompson wrote. “If it is found that a person making a threat is a student, in addition to legal action, that student is subject to consequences, to include expulsion.”

Despite the suspect’s arrest, there was an increased police presence at the two high schools on March 7.

It was the second threat made against the district in just over two weeks. On Feb. 20, a 14-year-old Willoughby Middle School student allegedly made a shooting threat against the school. The student was interviewed by Willoughby police and told them he just doesn’t like the school and didn’t mean anything by it.

That suspect is facing charges of second-degree felony inducing panic and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Security at the middle school was increased Feb. 21 as a precautionary measure.

Willoughby police also investigated a possible threat against South High School in mid-January. Willoughby Lt. James Schultz said the complainant reported receiving a Snapchat about someone shooting up the school. The student who had found the post, shared it and then notified a parent who contacted the department.

It was initially believed the post came from a South High School student, but that turned out to be false. The department along with agencies in Lake, Ashtabula and Cuyahoga counties investigated the threat along with the Cleveland FBI.

The FBI was able to locate the source of the post and determined that the threat was not credible. Schultz said the account belonged to a homeschooled student in Cleveland. The student’s account may have been hacked. No arrests were made, Schultz said.

“The Willoughby Police Department and the Willoughby-Eastlake School District take all threats of school violence seriously,” the department stated in a Facebook post. “Please remind your students that threats of school violence should be reported immediately to their parents/teachers and local police department.”

The department stated that students should not share/repost/retweet the threats on social media.

“Students who choose to share threats could face criminal delinquency charges and/or school sanctions,” the department stated.