WYLIE, Texas — A 16-year-old student was arrested Thursday after allegedly making a threat against a school in Wylie, police say.
Police say they received a call about a suspicious person at a Whataburger in the 300 block of State Highway 78 shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday. Officers learned that person was the same 16-year-old who was accused of threatening to “shoot up” Wylie East High School and was expelled earlier in the day, according to Wylie PD.
The teen was arrested on complaints of terroristic threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury and was expelled for making comments that were perceived as threatening by classmates.
Detectives upgraded the teen’s charge to threatening to use a firearm at school.
“The Wylie Police Department wants to remind parents and students that we take all threats seriously and that we will not tolerate our campuses being threatened,” Wylie police said in a news release.
Wylie East High School Principal Tiffany Doolan sent a letter to parents about the incident.
I need to make you aware of a situation impacting our campus. Yesterday afternoon, a student allegedly made a concerning comment to a group of their peers that was perceived as threatening. The group of students reported the comment to a campus administrator. In response, the student was promptly suspended from school pending a thorough investigation.
Last night, this student was arrested off-campus at a local restaurant after making comments about wanting to commit violence at a school as well as harm those in the restaurant. These statements were reported to the Wylie Police Department, leading to the student's arrest. While we understand this situation is alarming, there are NO active threats directed toward our campus. As Wylie ISD communicated earlier this week, our district does not tolerate threats. We take any and all threatening behavior seriously, and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Threats of any kind, whether made in jest or with serious intent, will be fully investigated, and appropriate consequences will be enforced. Please know that the safety of our students and staff continues to be my top priority. I urge you to take this opportunity to speak with your children about the importance of reporting any concerning behavior they may witness.
As this is a pending criminal investigation, I am unable to provide additional information. Questions related to the criminal investigation must be directed to Wylie PD. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your ongoing support.
North Texas police and school districts have reported numerous threats against schools in the first few weeks of the school year. Most of the threats have been unfounded or false alarms, though several arrests have been made for students accused of making the threats.