Teens charged after making threats against Walt Whitman Middle School

Two teenagers are facing felony charges after allegedly making threats about a possible shooting at Walt Whitman Middle School on social media, the Fairfax County Police announced this morning.

The 14- and 15-year-old boys each face one count of threats to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property. Police say the pair did not have the means to carry out the threat, and that the motivation behind their actions was to impress a girl.

The suspects were not named due to their age. 

The police say they were notified of the threats Feb. 17 by a person who reported a tip in-person at the Mount Vernon district police station. Detectives from the FCPD’s Criminal Intelligence Division investigated social media “and other databases” to identify the suspects, according to a police press release. 

The two suspects turned themselves in Tuesday morning, and were released into the custody of their parents. Both are required to wear electronic monitoring devices.

Walt Whitman principal Craig Herring sent a letter to parents on Feb. 19 informing them of the threat, and said that even though the threat was found to be non-credible, security would be increased at the school. 

The threat against Whitman is the latest of a number of non-credible threats made by against local schools since the deadly Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida. The FCPD says they have investigated 24 school related threats or complaints, but only the Whitman students have faced charges thus far. At least two other Richmond Highway-area schools, Mark Twain Middle School and Edison High School, have had to deal with bogus threats made on social media. 

The police in their press release warned that even if threats are made in a joking manner, perpetrators — as well as their parents or guardians — may face serious consequences. 

“Such statements will not be tolerated and will be considered threats,” the police said. “We investigate and document every concern brought to our attention and will charge those responsible, even if they are under the age of 18. Juveniles can also face felony charges in these cases regardless of their age. If convicted, our department will seek restitution from the suspects or their guardians to cover the personnel costs associated with these investigations.”

This story was updated with additional information from the Fairfax County Police.