Police recently arrested and charged a 19-year-old Kent State University student who posted a message on Twitter saying he planned to “shoot up” the campus. He was charged with inducing panic, a felony, and aggravated menacing. Apparently, he posted the tweet on July 25^th.   He also faces hearings that can result in his suspension or dismissal from Kent State.

The exact wording of the Kent State student’s tweet was not released. I am sure his threat would have been taken seriously even without the backdrop of the recent deadly Colorado shooting.  (I tried to find his official Twitter account where the alleged threat was made but I could not find it.)

I expect we will see more of this … students being arrested for tweets.  I am happy to see swift reaction to the university’s rapid response to this potential threat. Society needs to learn to pay attention to cries for help and threats that can be ignored on social media.  Potentially real threats, that are common on social media before tragedy strikes, need to be taken very serious even when it would be easier to “not get involved.”  Just something for us think about and teach our kids.

Image credited to Campus Safety

AUTHOR OVERVIEW

Lisa Shaw Senior Director, Child Online Safety and Protection at SpectorSoft

What do five kids ranging in age from kindergarten to high school, a Harvard MBA and years of protecting kids online get you? It gets you Lisa Shaw, COO of her very busy household, and a Senior Director at SpectorSoft, the number one leader in monitoring and protecting your kids online. She's an expert on the technology and trends that you need to arm yourself with to be the best parent you can be in today’s digital world.

Tags: student arrested for tweet, teen violence, threats in social media, threats online