"We know that shame doesn’t change anyone’s behavior."
The pounding on the front door came just after midnight, hours after the middle schooler posted what she thought was a joke to her private Snapchat story.
Her confused mother opened the door to Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies, who arrested the 13-year-old on felony charges of posting a “written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism” and “unlawful use of a two-way communications device.” Deputies did not believe she had access to any weapons when she made the threat.
The A-student and volleyball player, whom the Tampa Bay Times is not naming because she is a juvenile, said she knew she made a mistake when she and her friend posted “I swear I’m gonna shoot up this school” on her private story intended for a few friends. What she didn’t expect was the post to upend her academic trajectory and online presence.
She spent three nights in juvenile detention and completed a juvenile diversion program. Her case is in the process of being expunged. But her mug shot remains on the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office social media accounts four months after her arrest.
Her case reflects the balancing act between preventing violence in schools and recognizing that kids who thoughtlessly post online can wind up haunted by a digital footprint.
Read more at the Tampa Bay Times