Leady: Stop joking about it

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In the wake of the school shooting in Florida that killed 17 students, teachers and administrators, there has been an increase in shooting threats.

A lot of teens and students took to their social media accounts claiming to duplicate the actions of Nikolas Cruz, the shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. These threats do not pose imminent threats, but rather an insensitivity to the actual danger they are causing.

One threat came to another school in Florida called Space Coast Sr./Jr. High School. Brevard County Sheriff’s Office was informed about a Snapchat posted with a teen holding a gun posing a threat to the school.

The teen was later arrested and charged with issuing a written threat to kill or do bodily harm, according to a report from Florida Today.

The teen believed the threat was “funny” and wasn’t meant to cause any real suspicion.

This threat came in the wake of another post made on Snapchat from a South Carolina teen claiming, “Round 2 of Florida tomorrow.”

With schools in high alert after the shooting, these threats have been taken very seriously. This teen also showed an assault rifle in his photo posted with him standing in front of a mirror in what appears to be his bathroom.

In a report from WSPA in South Carolina, when authorities searched the teen’s home, the gun was actually an airsoft gun, not a real assault rifle. The boy was charged with disturbing schools.

He also told officials that his threat was meant to be a joke.

Similar reports were made across the country in states such as Ohio and Tennessee, all meant to be funny.

Why do I point these out you may ask?

Insensitivity.

In the wake of a shooting like this tragedy, all places are on high alert in fear of another incident occurring.

Kids think it is funny to poke fun at the idea of these shootings, almost mocking Cruz and making fun of what he has done.

These situations are not funny at all, and there shouldn’t be any reason to joke about making a threat to a school.

Take these events seriously. It’s a key to starting to prevent the fear.

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