FORT SMITH, Ark. – A 13-year-old Arkansas boy faces a possible felony charge after allegedly threatening to “suicide-bomb” his junior high school, according to police.
After an online gaming platform alerted investigators, they were able to identify a student in connection to the threat by using the boy’s screen name, a news release states.
Police found the boy with his grandfather at a Fort Smith home Sunday. The juvenile suspect had been suspended from school in the past for making similar threats, according to KFSM.
Officers arrested the teen for felony first-degree terroristic threatening. He is being held in the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center.
The Fort Smith Police Department released the following statement:
“The Fort Smith Police Department takes threats such as this very seriously. We will continue to thoroughly investigate any threats and will work to swiftly arrest any person who makes threats such as what occurred. Threats like this are not considered a joke and will result in felony charges. FSPD works very closely with Fort Smith School Officials as well as state or federal agencies to prosecute all individuals who make threats toward schools.”