An 11-year-old Lake Ridge New Tech student is in custody and others will be questioned after Lake County detectives investigated possible threats against the school on social media over the weekend.
The 11-year-old’s mother also was arrested on an outstanding warrant for neglect of a dependent, Lake County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Pam Jones said in a release Sunday night.
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A County detective was told over the weekend about a social media post threatening an active shooter situation scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 19, Jones said. That post included the name of a Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School teacher as a victim and a picture of several assault rifles, Jones said.
The detective, along with others, tracked the post’s origin and then gathered potential evidence for search warrants related to the threats, she said. They identified a 12- and 13-year-old as potential suspects along with the 11-year-old and are continuing their investigation.
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The 11-year-old is being held in the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center, Jones said, and criminal charges are pending through the Lake County Prosecutor’s office. The department also isn’t releasing the child’s mother’s name at this time, she said.
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr., said he’s “extremely proud” of the work the detectives did and took a moment to talk about the department’s new Real-Time Crime Unit, which will launch in 2023 and will provide a “central clearinghouse for data gathered from sources — including social media and — for coordinating crime-fighting resources.
“Even if the posts turn out to be a hoax, we want to be clear that this type of suspicious behavior will not be tolerated in Lake County, Indiana,” Martinez said in the release. “We have a dedicated team of analysts who specialize in electronic media investigations, (so) to those who would attempt to threaten lives in Lake County and hide behind social media, we will identify you, we will find you and we will prosecute you.”
