Northside High Student Arrested, Charged With Terrorizing After Making Violent Statements on Campus
A student at Northside High School was arrested on Tuesday (Oct. 4) and charged with Terrorizing.
According to Sr. Cpl. Matthew Benoit with the Lafayette Police Department, officers arrested the juvenile student for threats that were made on Monday (Oct. 3). Benoit says the student made violent statements, claiming that he would "shoot up the school."
Several students were present at the time when the violent statements were made and the Lafayette Police Department School resource officer and administrators at Northside High School were made aware of the incident on Tuesday morning.
This incident took place on the same day that Lafayette High was placed on a 5-hour lockdown due to similar threats made online where students and staff members were mentioned by name. While police were investigating the online threats an anonymous 911 call was made claiming that there was a student on campus with a gun near one of the school buildings.
Lafayette PD swept the campus and determined that no student was in possession of a firearm. Police were able to detain a student at Lafayette High School regarding the 911 call and, upon further investigation, that juvenile student was arrested and charged with Terrorizing.
Sr. Cpl. Benoit warns that this "trend" is no joking matter and that kids "need to understand how serious these situations are."
“Terrorizing” is a felony charge, it’s no joke. The police department pulls lots of resources and manpower in incidents like this and that’s not something to take lightly. Students need to understand that they can be expelled from school along with being arrested for making social media posts and statements like this. That’s not just a burden on the student, but it creates issues and un-needed stress for the parents as well. Students who make a decision to post/say things like this need to realize how these actions can affect their life and change the path of their high school career—which can ultimately affect their future.
An investigation by the Lafayette Police Department is still ongoing. If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact the Lafayette Police Department at 337-291-8600.