Teen Accused Of Terrorism For Threatening School Shooting: Sheriff

PRESCOTT, AZ — A 13-year-old boy is accused of terrorism after he repeatedly said he planned to "shoot up the school" in Prescott, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy, who was not publicly identified, was arrested and booked into the Yavapai County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of threatening or intimidating, interference or disruption of an educational institution and making a terrorist threat, according to the sheriff's office.

The boy is accused of making the threats May 17 to a Prescott Mile High Middle School bus driver, who reported the threats to administrators at the school. The boy told law enforcement that he only made the threats to distract the bus driver while his friend moved to the back of the bus, and that he had no plans to hurt anyone at the school, the sheriff's office said in a news release. But Sheriff David Rhodes wants kids to know that making such serious threats is a crime, no matter their actual intent.

“I want to speak to directly to the young people out there," Rhodes said in a statement posted on Facebook. "I cannot stress enough the seriousness of making a threat to a school, even if you are ‘just kidding.' You will be arrested and charged for making these types of dangerous threats. ‘I wasn’t serious’ isn’t a defense, so please be aware that your words have consequences."

The boy's mother told law enforcement that there were guns in their home in Prescott, but that they were locked in a safe. The sheriff's office advised her to chance the combination to ensure the boy doesn't have access to the guns, something the office suggests that all parents with guns in a safe do regularly.