MESA, AZ — As school districts across the state and country continue battling school threats, the Mesa Police Department said it has ramped up arrests for those continuing the dangerous trend.
Mesa Police have submitted charges for threats of violence and/or disrupting school operations for at least 15 students in their jurisdiction over the past couple of weeks — some as young as 11 years old.
Police confirmed Mesa Public Schools received multiple threats to schools this week, with one even believed to have originated outside the US.
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“It was coming back toward eastern Europe as the location of the original message,” Mesa PD Detective Richard Encinas said.
However, Encinas said the majority of threats are still coming from kids.
“We’re not going to stop. We’re going to take each one seriously because we don’t want anything to slip through our fingers,” Encinas said. “Something that others might think is a joke others might not.”
On Wednesday, police and school district leaders released a PSA urging parents to discuss the serious consequences of making a violent threat.
Parent Mercedes Peterson echoed that sentiment, saying parents have an obligation to know what their children are doing online and to instill safe behavior.
“If your kid is thinking this way, what road are they headed down? You’ve got to nip it. You’ve got to nip it fast,” Peterson said. “This is out of control and it’s really sad.”
ABC15 has followed the disturbing trend in school districts across the Valley, including Scottsdale, Phoenix, Buckeye, Goodyear, Mesa and Surprise.
