— A Wake Forest man faces criminal charges after authorities found a social media post threatening third-graders at a local school who the man said had insulted his mother.

Isaiah David Napier, 18, of 1116 Silent Brook Road, was arrested Sunday night on a charge of making a false report concerning mass violence on educational property, which is a felony. He was being held Monday in the Wake County jail.

Wake County Sheriff's Office investigators said a Snapchat photo showed Napier holding what appeared to be a large-caliber automatic assault rifle, and the photo included the text, "These (expletive) third-graders won't stop calling my mom gay, so Imma shoot theirs. That'll teach 'em."

The gun was later determined to be an airsoft gun, somewhat akin to a paintball gun, authorities said.

Napier told investigators that the post was meant as a joke.

The school targeted in the threat wasn't identified, but authorities noted that Napier lives a short distance from Jones Dairy Elementary School, at 1100 Jones Dairy Road.

Jones Dairy Elementary has been the target of numerous threats in recent months from a man whose parents live behind the school.

Arthur Vladimir Kochetkov, 33, was charged last summer with trespassing at the school after he was found on the school playground wearing military fatigues.

Last fall, Kochetkov was charged with with communicating threats and making a false report concerning mass violence on educational property. Authorities said he made expletive-filled posts on Facebook threatening to shoot up schools. The posts included photos of guns, Wake Forest police cars, a Wake County deputy's car and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson.

Kochetkov's mother said he isn't a threat. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army, she said, adding that she has tried to get mental health treatment for him.

Jones Dairy Elementary now has an armed off-duty officer patrolling the school, and the Wake County Public School System has added security cameras, built a fence behind the school, added security film to the school's windows, cleared brush near the property and installed a new visitor management system in the front lobby.