January 30, 2020 4:00 a.m. (updated from original story)
A 13-year old boy has been lodged in the Douglas County Juvenile Detention Center, accused of falsely reporting a school shooting threat.
Sergeant Jeff Eichenbusch of the Roseburg Police said on Tuesday afternoon, RPD School Resource Officers learned of a potential threat of violence that was targeted at Joseph Lane Middle School. Eichenbusch said the threat was made over the social media platform Snapchat.
Eichenbusch said RPD immediately started investigating the incident and worked in cooperation with the Roseburg School District. During the early stages of the investigation, it appeared the threat was not credible, but police continued to look into the situation.
On Wednesday, officers learned that the original threat was made by a 13-year old student at Joseph Lane over his Snapchat account. Eichenbusch said the post indicated that a “new student” at the school was going to “shoot up” the school on Wednesday. The 13-year old suspect admitted the report was false, and said that after posting it they tried to delete it, but by then it had already been sent and copied by others.
Eichenbusch said the student has been charged with first degree disorderly conduct.
In response to the false threat, Roseburg Public Schools Superintendent Jared Cordon said “the safety of our students and staff is the top priority of the Roseburg School District, and any potential or reported threat will be promptly and thoroughly investigated”.
Cordon said “it is vital that anyone with knowledge of a threat to student safety immediately report the information to school officials and law enforcement”. He said “it is also important to remember the false information can spread quickly on social media, and that spreading false reports can lead to criminal prosecution”. Cordon thanked the Roseburg Police for their assistance with the incident.