Missouri has had many school threats so far this school year. U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming said her office, along with the FBI St. Louis, the ATF, and the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association are partnering to combat the rise in reported hoax threats.
Florissant Police Chief Timothy Fagan said that most of the time, the threats are intended to be “a joke.”
“If you choose to make a school threat and you are taken into custody by law enforcement, you will not be going home at the end of the day,” he said. “Making a school threat is a very serious violation of the law and there are consequences that result from that threat.”
Fagan, who heads the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association, said that law enforcement, the court system and school districts are treating these “jokes” as serious threats. Consequences can include being placed under court supervision and children could be prosecuted as an adult on state and federal charges.
Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson, with the FBI field office in St. Louis, explained the serious consequences of calling in a hoax threat.
“At the federal level, you can be sentenced up to five years, not a joke,” she said. “If someone is injured, that sentence can go up to 20 years, not a joke. If death occurs, you could be facing a life sentence. Again, not a joke.”
Johnson warns parents and school students not to share hoax threats seen online because it can slow down the law enforcement response. According to Greg Wagener, with Parkway Schools in St. Louis, every student who has made a threat this year at his district has received some sort of long-term suspension.
Chief Fagan said that law enforcement, the court system, and school districts treat these so-called jokes as serious threats.
“We spend a good deal of time trying to identify the person responsible for that threat,” he said. “I guess one thing that I would like to stress is we will identify who is responsible. I think often young people have the assumption that they can create a fake account and in some way that will shield them. It will not.”
Fagan said students often are surprised that they have been identified, claiming that the hoax threats are a joke. He said that once that person is identified, law enforcement begins a full investigation into the student’s home and family life, which involves search warrants and possible local, state, or federal charges.
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