SC teen cited for posting ‘How do you sneak a gun into school?’ on Instagram

A 13-year-old male student was charged with a disturbance after a threat was made against Forestbrook Middle School on social media Sunday, police said.

The student was charged with disturbing schools, according to authorities.

“The threat is believed to have been a hoax that got out of hand,” said Lt. Raul Denis with Horry County police in an email Tuesday morning.

According to a police report, a post on Instagram by an “unknown person” posed the question “How do you sneak a gun into school?” The threat also mentioned shooting a particular student, an earlier report stated.

“Additional responses escalated to the point that several parents had kept their children out of school for fear of this unknown person shooting up the school,” officers noted in the report.

On Monday, Teal Britton, Horry County district spokeswoman, said parents were notified with a phone message from the school’s principal about the issue.

Police tracked the post to the Myrtle Beach teen’s address, but the boy’s mother assured officers that there were no weapons in their home and her son does not have access to a weapon, according to the report.

The student was released to his mother with a juvenile summon to appear in court.

Administrators met with the 8th grade student and his parents Monday morning, Britton said. The student was counseled on the seriousness of his actions.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 8:27 AM.