Two Teens Arrested in Connection with WFISD Bomb Threats

  • By Matt Jones
  • August 20, 2021

The Wichita Falls Independent School District in Wichita Falls, Texas, released a statement on Thursday, Aug. 19, saying that a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old have been arrested in connection with a total of eight bomb threats made to district schools within the last week. The Dallas FBI field office confirmed the arrests and stated that making a terroristic threat to a school is a third-degree felony that carries a sentence of up to 10 years of jail time, according to local news.

The statement did not reveal whether the two teens have been charged.

“The Dallas FBI has joined our other field offices to remind students to #ThinkBeforeYouPost,” read a Dallas FBI statement. “Making school threats are not a joke. Hoax threats are serious crimes with serious consequences, including the possibility of jail time.”

The district said that the 14-year-old suspect was arrested in Wichita Falls on Wednesday in connection with a bomb threat to Rider High School on Monday, Aug. 16. The 15-year-old was arrested in a Dallas suburb in connection with bomb threats to Wichita Falls High School on Aug. 12 and to Rider High School, Hirschi High School, Barwise Middle School, Kirby Middle School and Wichita Falls High School on Aug. 13.

The district and other authorities did not comment on whether the two suspects or their activities were linked.

According to local news, the investigation into the two teenagers was kicked off by a Crime Stoppers tip, and it was a joint effort among WFPD, the FBI, U.S. Marshals, WFISD staff and students, and Texas DPS.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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