Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced a Thibodaux High School student has been charged with terrorizing after impersonating another student and threatening to bring a gun to school.

On September 22, juvenile detectives opened an investigation into a school threat that appeared in a group message on SnapChat. A male student stated he had possession of a firearm and threatened to bring it to school and “shoot everyone.” While the threat appeared to come from one male student, through investigation, detectives found the message actually originated from another 14-year-old male student.

The 14-year-old boy was charged with violating Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:40.7 (Cyberbulling) and 14:126.1 (False Swearing for the Purpose of Violating Public Health and Safety). He was ordered to be electronically monitored.

Sheriff Webre cautions parents to speak to their children about this incident. “Technology has made it very easy to try to impersonate someone else, but it also makes it easy to track down the true perpetrator,” said Sheriff Webre. “This is not a joke, a prank, or a game. All threats are taken very seriously, and there are serious consequences. Be sure your children understand that once you send a message, you can’t take it back.”