No Threat to Barnegat Schools Found After Social Media Posts

BARNEGAT,NJ - There is no threat or risk to the Russell L. Brackman Middle School or any other district school after a seventh grader posted on social media that the school would "get lit" on Thursday, Police Chief Keith Germain said.

District students notified police and school administrators on Wednesday night about a series of social media posts and videos that left them concerned about a risk of a shooting at the school, Germain said on the police department's Facebook page.

The investigation stemmed from a subject who lives in Florida and posted a clip from the movie "Scarface" on social media, with the statement that it was going to “get lit” on Wednesday night. A Brackman seventh grader responded to the post with the comment "it’s gonna get lit at school tomorrow.”

The response made no sense to the Florida poster, who sent it to a friend in the Barnegat school district. It then began to be circulated among Barnegat students on social media, Germain said.

Barnegat students then looked through the seventh grader's other social media posts and found a video of a male shooting a stuffed animal with a shotgun, the chief said.

"It was originally believed by the students that the subject in the video was the Brackman 7th grader," Germain said. "It was later determined that the video was pulled from the internet and that the subject shooting the stuffed animal was not the 7th grader nor any other local student."

Barnegat police were able to identify the seventh-grader, then went to his home and spoke with the students and a parent, he said.

"It was determined that the student was referencing having a good time at school and was not in any way threatening violence," Germain said.

Officers searched the home and found an Airsoft toy gun and an antique sword. Police secured both items for safekeeping, he said.

"In summary—there was no threat ever made against the school district, nor was there any video of the 7th grader or any other local student shooting a stuffed animal," Germain said. "I am thoroughly satisfied that there is no threat to the district schools or students."

The chief commended the students who took "immediate action" when they thought there was a threat to the district.

Image: Courtesy of Barnegat Police Department