On Wednesday night, some Clay County families were having a serious conversation with their students after a 13-year-old was arrested, accused of threatening a shooting at Lake Asbury Junior High School.
According to Sheriff Michelle Cook, the 13-year-old boy was holding his grandparents’ rifle when he made the threat in an online video chat using the HouseParty app.
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“The grandparents did not know about this, and he had learned the combination to the safe, and retrieved the weapon,” Cook said.
The sheriff says another student on the video chat reported what happened to a teacher, who in turn told the Clay County Schools Police Department.
Christopher Hamer, a cyber-security expert, says social apps like HouseParty give users a false sense of safety with friends leading to a more careless attitude.
“I’m hesitant to use the word vomit, but it really is just kind of a verbal vomit. Their brain shuts down, their mouth keeps going and they say things that gets them in trouble.
Hamer reminds young users, that just because they may be using a social media app in the safety of their own home, they’re still broadcasting on the internet.
As a parent, Hamer says all the cyber-security measures in the world won’t protect children from incidents online.
“We have to learn to not only trust our kids but have our kids trust us,” Hamer said. “That we’re not just trying to be internet ogres and prevent them from having fun. Talk to your kids. Trust your kids. Make them trust you.”
Along with being arrested, the student was suspended from school and faces the possibility of being expelled.