Threat At Heights High: Teen Student Faces Charges

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — A 16-year-old student will face charges in connection with a threat made towards Heights High School this week.

The teenager, a student at Heights High, will be charged with making terroristic threats and inducing panic, according to Cleveland Heights Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg. Both charges are felonies. He is being held at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center.

On Monday, Heights Schools officials were made aware of a threat towards the high school posted on social media. The poster said they were going to “shoot up” the school, Fox 8 reported.

Immediately after the message was discovered, Heights High was placed on a Level 2 lockdown, with students and staff locked in their classrooms. District security and Cleveland Heights police swept the building and found no trace of weapons. Out of an abundance of caution, the district said, Heights High moved to remote learning Tuesday.

The Heights Schools have a "See Something, Say Something," policy. That means students are encouraged to report anything they see that makes them feel unsafe, a district spokesperson told Patch.