Authorities are reminding students of the consequences of making threats at school

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Just in the last two weeks three threats assigned to Moss Bluff High School. While two students threatened to bring weapons to school another student claimed they would be the next school shooter.

“You don’t know when a threat is real and when someone is just having fun and thinks they’re cute, but I can tell you if you make threats, we’ll be knocking on your door,” said Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory.

All three students who made the threats were booked into the Calcasieu Parish Juvenile Detention Center and charged with terrorizing.

“When we look at these cases, one of the things we notice is that these threats are not related to intimidation. They are not related to each other, so as a result, we are dealing with different events occurring within a short period of time,” said Calcasieu Parish Superintendent Dr. Jason VanMetre.

VanMetre encourages parents to communicate with their children and remind them that words matter. He said that when a student makes threats in a public place, they face legal consequences.

“We have limited details that we can share, but we are sharing what information we can with parents to make sure they understand that we are on top of the situation and that their child is safe at school, but because we have privacy laws,” he said Guillory.

Additionally, Guillory says the sheriff’s office has zero tolerance when it comes to threats at school.

“If they go out and threaten any school, that’s what’s going to happen,” Sheriff Guillory said.

After a student is arrested, the court decides on further proceedings.

“Once they are arrested and booked into the JDC, they will have juvenile status for the rest of their juvenile life, so this is a very serious crime,” Guillory said.

VanMetre says school threats are not limited to Moss Bluff Middle School.

“We have had threats at other schools that we have dealt with with CPSO and in a very similar manner, consistent with their policies and our policies, but this is not a Moss Bluff problem. This is a problem for the entire parish. This is a statewide problem. This is a nationwide problem and we need to make sure everyone understands it because it is everywhere and it is everyone’s responsibility to help solve it,” he said.

VanMetre says if any student hears anything disturbing or feels uncomfortable, they should speak to an administrator or counselor immediately so they can respond immediately.