'Just a joke': Students' social media threats are disrupting schools

School officials and local police are keeping a close eye on social media after a series of instances in Northwest Florida in which students threatened violence at school.

There have been two threats in as many weeks at Navarre High School, and a third in Fort Walton Beach, as three different students made threats on social media that prompted their peers and peers' parents to call the schools concerned.

A student posted to Instagram referencing certain cliques, saying "I hope you all have fun in hell because I'm going to drag you down with me." That student was suspended as a result of the post.

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Another NHS student, Brandon Lee Hawkins, 15, was arrested Wednesday and faces a felony charge of writing or sending a threat to kill or injure. He allegedly used another student's online profile to send Snapchat messages saying he would "shoot up the school" and "I'm glad it's an all day pep rally, everyone is easy targets."

Neither threat resulted in harm at the school, but the increase has authorities concerned.

"I think people take it more seriously now than ever, there's no doubt in my mind about that and it's justly so," said Jason Weeks, Santa Rosa County School District director of high schools.

Weeks said threats over social media are increasing and they disrupt the education system.

"Sometimes, not always, it escalates into a major disruption on campus," Weeks said. "Students start checking out of school, parents call, it's logical, but the parents are scared."

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Escambia County School District Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said his district isn't immune to social media concerns, but it's rare that a post crosses the line to threaten the campus' security.

Thomas said the district relies largely on students and parents to report what they see online or on social media, as staff can't possibly monitor everyone's online activity.

"Oftentimes it's another student who will take a snapshot and send a photo of the post to myself or a principal or dean and they do it in a private way and we respect that," he said. 

The same day the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office announced it was investigating the NHS student's school shooting post, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office charged a Fort Walton Beach High School student with sending a threat to kill or do bodily harm, a second-degree felony.

According to the OCSO, the student, Brent Robeen, 15, posted a video on Snapchat, where he was holding what appeared to be an AK-47 with the message, "Don't come to skool tomorrow." He told investigators the message was "just a joke."

SRSO spokesman Sgt. Rich Aloy said most of the students who deputies interview in their jurisdiction relating to threats don't comprehend the seriousness of the consequences.

"These kids in the schools who are making threats over social media are going to be caught, because we have the means to find out who they are," Aloy said. "It's a serious thing … . What they're doing is not only bullying, but in today’s day and age it's taken differently than it was five, 10, 15 years ago,” Aloy said.

Charges can go beyond just the threat, but include interfering with school activities and harassing communication, Aloy said.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said juveniles make up almost all of the school threat-related cases prosecuted by the state. 

While the majority of those threats are made via platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, Marcille said Florida laws address only "verbal or written communications," which can complicate the prosecution of those cases.

"There are means we can use to electronically track the devices used," he said. "We can go to individuals' personal systems with warrants to determine what may be there, other witnesses may be able to testify as to the responsible parties who made the threats, and oftentimes, (the suspects) will discuss it themselves."

When assessing how to charge a student who’s made threats, the state considers the interfering with a school function charge, which is a misdemeanor, or the threats charge, which is a felony.

Marcille likened the situation to a modern-day version of calling in a bomb threat.

“A lot of people post things online or electronically and they’re not thinking about the full ramifications, but if a threat is made and it involved the school system, the school has to take that very seriously. The ramifications are far greater than most individuals realize,” Marcille said.

Those ramifications aren’t just for the students themselves, but also the wider school system.

When a student posts on social media and it’s shared dozens of times, that leads to dozens of calls to school officials. That can also result in a significant number of students staying home from school several days, missed school hours and assignments, according to Weeks.

He said SRSD doesn’t keep statistics on the number of students who have missed days as a result of safety threats, but anecdotally he said it’s significant.

Weeks said when a threat is brought to the school’s attention, they assess several factors including its validity, the need to distribute the information through the school community and the capability a student has to carry out that threat.

It’s a balancing act between keeping parents informed and preventing mass panic.

“If, for example, there are five people involved and you get to it quickly and you’ve found there’s no posed threat, if you do a call out to 2,200 students you might cause a panic that’s not necessary,” Weeks said.

Though, there have been cases where a safety threat has led to school-wide automated calls expressing the concern and informing parents how the school was investigating.

“We take threats very seriously and we’re pouring our resources into educating students about it, and we’ll bend over backwards to make sure our students are safe,” he said.