Ector County ISD police have arrested a ninth-grade male student who made a threat toward Permian High School on social media.
ECISD officers found the student on campus and took him into custody. He did not have a weapon in his possession, but officers later found a blank gun (a gun that fires blanks) at a home. The student is now charged with the Class A misdemeanor exhibition, use, or threat of exhibition or use of firearms, a news release said.
Because the timing of the investigation coincided with the beginning of the school day, police asked that a school-wide announcement of the threat not be made as it would likely have hindered the search for the student. The school district’s normal protocol is to notify parents of a threatening message as quickly as possible, the release said.
The district asks all parents to take this opportunity to remind their children that threats, weapons and violent messages will always be taken seriously by Ector County ISD. The district investigates them fully and will file charges against those who make such treats whether or not they are intended to be a joke.
Students should be very careful about the things they post online because they can have severe disciplinary, or even legal, consequences, the release said.
District leaders want to commend ECISD officers and PHS administrators for their diligent work to first identify, then find the student while keeping the campus safe for other students and staff members, the release said.
