Massachusetts teen charged with making threat after posting Instagram photo with BB gun

GLOUCESTER, Mass. –– A 13-year-old middle school student who posted a photo of himself online, brandishing a gun with a tagline warning peers to avoid school on Monday faces a criminal charge.

The student from O’Maley Innovation Middle School, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, was charged Monday afternoon with making threats to disrupt a school, and will be summonsed to Essex Juvenile Court to answer the charge, according to a police report.

School Superintendent Richard Safier confirmed the student has also been suspended, though he would not confirm for how long.

Safier said the student posted a photo of himself on Instagram Sunday night. The photo showed the student with what turned out to be a BB gun, Safier said, with the accompanying message, “Don’t go to school tomorrow.”

Police jumped on the post quickly Sunday night, Safier said, and visited the home of the student and his parents. They continued investigating Monday.

The incident echoes a viral public service announcement released on Dec. 2 by anti-violence advocacy group Sandy Hook Promise, titled “Evan.” The PSA urges people to watch for and recognize the warning signs of gun violence and shows, among other things, a young boy posting a photo of himself wielding a gun online.

Safier and O’Maley principal Debra Lucey each sent messages to parents of O’Maley students Monday, notifying them of what had occurred. But the school day went on without disruption.

“As far as we’re concerned, the issue has been resolved,” Safier said Tuesday. The threat, and any others like it, he said, are something the school district “absolutely takes seriously.”

Interim police Chief John McCarthy said police had received a call about and then identified the Instagram post. He declined to comment further on the incident, citing the student’s juvenile status.

Lamont writes for the Gloucester, Massachusetts Times.