A Cochrane teen has been charged after posting a picture of himself with gun ammunition on Snapchat with a warning that students should stay away from Cochrane High School on Monday.
Cochrane RCMP says the post was made on Thursday, June 3 and brought to their attention the same day. Mounties say their investigation quickly identified the 15-year-old and resulted in his arrest for uttering threats.
“The family has been very cooperative with us,” said Sgt. Jeff Campbell from the Cochrane RCMP. “The student has never had any police involvement before, so this is something that the family is taking seriously, as well as us.”
He has since been released to the custody of his parents and may only use his personal computer for school until the end of the school year.
Campbell says the RCMP has not found any evidence that other students were involved in the incident, although one Cochrane Catholic school made a decision to be on lockdown throughout the day.
“We’re really trying to get the message out to the youth of the community that when they put stuff out on social media, especially things of sensitive nature such as school shootings or other inappropriate photos, that people will bring them forward to us, and we investigate them and have consequences (like those) that the youth are facing,” said Campbell.
The teen is scheduled to appear in Cochrane Provincial Court on Tuesday, June 14.
