Charges may come soon in threat made against Maize student

Maize police will present evidence early this week against a middle school student who allegedly threatened to shoot a Maize High School student during a debate on a social media site.

The 14-year-old boy was arrested without incident at about 8 a.m. Thursday at a Maize middle school, Police Chief Matt Jensby said Friday. The teen was taken to the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center.

The student could face a charge of criminal threat, Jensby said, though the final decision on any potential charges will be made by the section of the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office that handles juvenile crimes.

The threat was made during banter between the students on Instagram.

“There were several students that were weighing in on the conversation, but the threat was toward a specific student,” Jensby said.

The mother of the targeted student e-mailed the high school principal with a screenshot of the threat and said she was keeping her child home from school as a precaution, Jensby said. The principal alerted the school resource officer and the high school was placed on modified lockdown.

In the post, the suspect says he will see the targeted student at school “with a gun.”

Following the middle school student’s arrest, the lockdown at the high school was lifted and students and staff resumed the normal daily schedule.

“In the climate we live in today, you have to take every threat to a school serious,” Jensby said.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Charges may come soon in threat made against Maize student."