'End It. Don't Send It': LAPD launches new social media threat program

(FOX 11/CNS) - Days after a Van Nuys High School student allegedly posted a threat against the campus online, Los Angeles police on Wednesday announced a campaign aimed at curbing threats made by students on social media platforms.

The 15-year-old Van Nuys student was arrested and released to his parents, Los Angeles Police Department officials said. He allegedly made a threat via Snapchat saying he would shoot and kill people on Monday at the
campus in the 6400 block of Cedros Avenue.

The threat was made Sunday night, and parents alerted authorities. On Monday, officers contacted the student at the school, and he explained that the threat was a prank. But it is a felony crime "even when there is no intent to commit the crime," officials said Wednesday.

The LAPD and Los Angeles School Police unveiled a social media campaign titled "End It. Don't Send It," to educate students so they know "these types of threats will result in an arrest," LAPD Cmdr. Peter Zarcone said.

"It's not a prank. It's not a joke," he said.

L.A. School Police Sgt. Julie Spry said there has been a rise in students making threats via social media.

"Let's end school violence," she said.

The campaign was introduced through the LAPD's social media accounts, and officers plan to present information to students at Los Angeles Unified School District campuses.