An 18-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after allegedly making a threat against a student at a Walton County high school, prompting a low-level lockdown.
The student brought the social media messages to the attention of a friend at Monroe Area High School, who suggested they alert school administration, Monroe police said. The school was placed on lockdown as a precaution while police investigated the threat.
“Our students were never at risk,” the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook, pointing to a joint effort involving several local law enforcement agencies.
Noah Moorhead, who is not a student in the Walton County School District, was arrested in Morgan County on charges of terroristic threats and disruption of a school. According to police, the threatening messages were directed at a new boyfriend of Moorhead’s ex-girlfriend.
R.V. Watts, the Monroe police chief, said his officers maintained a presence at the school from about noon until the end of the day Tuesday. In the past, the agency has attempted to educate students on the importance of what they say and do online.
A threat made as a joke or without the intention of following through is still investigated as if it is the real thing, Watts said.
“We're just in a day and society now, you can't make those kind of comments,” he said, adding that “you have to look at everything as a potential threat.”
Moorhead was being held in the Walton County jail.
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