13-Year-Olds Arrested For Facebook School Bomb Threat

Earlier this month, an eighth-grader in small town Connecticut took to Facebook to vent his frustration with the principal, writing, "I swear to God I'm going to kill Mr. Robinson." In response, a female classmate chimed in, "Let's bomb the school together.'' The New Milford middle school students were both arrested this week and charged with disorderly conduct, second-degree breach of peace and threatening. The 13-year-olds were also suspended for ten days and face expulsion! But the boy's mother, whose name is being withheld, says the punishment is excessive, and perhaps motivated in part by her complaints about Mr. Robinson, the assistant principal.

"I'm not excusing him for what he did... I'm not proud of my child for doing this,'' the boy's mother tells the New Milford News-Times. "But if I was arrested every time I told my children I was going to kill them because they didn't do what I asked, I'd be on death row." The mom admits her son "has a big mouth, and is fresh," but she also seems to think Assistant Principal Gerald Robinson might be retaliating. The two frequently clash, and the day before the boy's arrest, his mother complained to Superintendent JeanAnn Paddyfote about Robinson.

Superintendent Paddyfote says she's considering expelling the students, because "We don't condone threats against people or property.'' Indeed, this new social networking phenomenon is a tricky thing. On the one hand, kids say the darnedest shit and it's now getting amplified by the Internet (Facebook allows 13-year-olds to use the site), and perhaps taken more seriously than necessary. On the other hand, our post-Columbine reality means that even the most ludicrous threat can no longer be brushed off as adolescent bluster. So either parents need to ban the Internet from their homes or more schools need to require classes about the repercussions of online conduct. Or, ideally, both.

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By John Del Signore in News on October 8, 2010 11:18 AM

Comments [rss]

John L

Sounds like the mother is a little nutty hence her son is also a little nutty but while I feel that he should be severely punished and made an example of, let's not go overboard and expel the kid over just talk.

Plus with a mother like that he understandably as anger issues so get him some therapy before he really does blow something up.

manytimes

ban the internet from their homes? you're seriously advocating an abstinence only approach to the internet for children? how exactly should we educate the youth about technology and media? banning the internet is such a stupid reactionary suggestion. parents need to teach their children about how to properly use the internet, and how to properly vent their anger. preventing children from using technology will just further increase the education gap that we currently suffer.

Guest

post-Columbine realty? I bet that's a bitch to sell.

Seriously though, this would have been a non-issue 12 years ago. Neither of those kids was serious about their "threats" and even if they were, the best course of action would have been to monitor them closely after they made them and catch them before they actually committed a crime. The thought police need to stand down before our country turns into Minority Report.

Peter

There are three fears that dominate American life today:

1. Adults are afraid of teenagers.

2. Whites are afraid of minorities.

3. Everyone is afraid of Muslims.

farleft

"But if I was arrested every time I told my children I was going to kill them because they didn't do what I asked, I'd be on death row."

Maybe some introspection is needed, lady. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

nicemarmot

I used to say shit like that when I was in middle school. The difference was I didn't put it in writing. Can't prove it if you don't write it down!

schadenfreudian mensch

And don't forget to tell your rugrats not to draw a gun because that might be construed as a terrorist act. http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0822gunsketch22-on.html