After a student enters a school with a firearm and takes aim at his classmates and teachers, after the police response, the criminal charges, and the public statements, another set of events takes place that’s somewhat less visible.
The survivors of the latest tragedy are left to pick up the pieces, seeking out therapy or other support. The families of the victims go through the aftermath, including mourning, and in some cases, wrongful death lawsuits and participation in criminal cases. Sometimes, they even deal with harassment and threats, as parents who lost children in Sandy Hook did.
Meanwhile, across the country, students react in ways ranging from trauma to copycat threats.
After Georgia School Shooting, Multiple False Threats Reported
Last week in Georgia, a 14-year-old and his father were arrested, the teen accused of entering a school with an AR-15 and killing four people and injuring others, and the father accused of providing the weapon. The teenager’s name has made headlines and has especially drawn attention since he had been previously investigated for threats to attack a school in a similar manner.
When school shootings are so prevalent in America, it’s tough to tie other public actions directly to a specific shooter. Still, the arrests and charges certainly don’t seem to deter other students across the country from threats and violence afterward.
Since then, police in multiple North Georgia school districts have dealt with copycat threats, and they’re handing out charges for them, according to 11Alive.
Some Students Being Charged Are Even Younger Than The Shooter
The students charged include a 12-year-old in Athens-Clarke County, who posted threats on social media, with images of guns along with the names of specific schools; a 15-year-old who said he thought his social media post threatening schools was a funny joke, and a 14-year-old who made a similar post, both in Forsyth County; and another 14-year-old in Fulton County. All of these students made their threats online and were arrested. All have been charged with terroristic threats; the Fulton County student was also charged with domestic terrorism, and the 14-year-old in Forsyth has also been charged with disruption of schools.
Another student, a 13-year-old in Hall County, told classmates he was going to be the next school shooter and that he had a “mag” in his backpack. He’s being charged with felony terroristic threats. A 17-year-old in the same county is being charged as an adult for terroristic threats because of social media posts, and a 12-year-old girl is being charged with felony terroristic threats after announcing on the bus that she would shoot teachers and students at both the middle and high school.
These are only a fraction of the reports from 7Alive (the youngest child mentioned is only 11), and the news station itself says its report is only a sampling of what police have shared.
These Copycat Threats, Hoaxes, & Arrests Aren’t Only In Georgia
In South Carolina, four students between the ages of 12 and 14 have been arrested for threatening statements toward their schools since the Georgia shooting, the Post & Courier reports.
Aside from the arrests, other rumors, reports, and concerns have reportedly been investigated. In some cases, the same message is reposted but with different schools named—something that can be done intentionally to spread fear or simply by accident, as people assume that any post they see is local and relevant to their own lives and don’t check the location.
Police are asking for these sorts of messages to be reported rather than reposted.
In West Virginia, too, there have been threats to more than half a dozen schools. Though none of the threats has been deemed credible, police are investigating for their sources, according to WCHSTV.
Police Are Not Taking These Threats As Jokes & Parents Can’t Either
Parents across the country need to speak with their children about these shooting events, especially after one occurs in their vicinity. Many kids may argue that they use ‘dark humor’ to cope, but they need to be reminded that dark humor has its place and should not include messages that are or could be seen as threatening.
Check-in with your child to see whether they need help processing events and to ensure they understand this kind of “joke” is not funny but harmful. Not only does it hurt and scare other children, but it disrupts the school district, takes police manpower away from more serious threats, and can land them in juvenile detention with serious charges