Photo credit: Alexander Rath | Dreamstime.com

The Police in Republic say they received a tip that a 13-year-old had sent a video on social media that said he would shoot up a school with an AK-47. The boy was arrested early Sunday morning for making a terrorist threat, according to a Republic Police Department news release.

This boy is certainly learning a hard lesson right now, don't say you're going to do something like shoot up a school, even if you're joking. The charge of making a terrorist threat is a serious charge carries a penalty from one to several years in jail.

Police seized guns and other evidence from the boy's residence and are conducting an ongoing investigation. The video the boy made was originally sent to another person late Friday but was not reported until Saturday evening, according to police.

The Republic School District aiding police in identifying the boy in the video and they promptly obtained a search warrant for the boy's home. He was arrested at 2:37 a.m. Sunday and was taken to the Green County Juvenile Detention Center.

In the public news release, Republic Police said, "The safety and security of students and school staff is of utmost priority for the Republic Police and Republic School District. It is important for students and parents to immediately report threats like this to law enforcement so a proper investigation can be conducted."

Republic Schools Superintendent Chance Wistrom said the staff are receiving special instructions for how to converse with students about proper procedure and reporting threats. "We want students to know we're all in this together. We need to be aware of any concerning incidents, no matter how big or how small."

Wistrom also said, "I think we need to continue to remind our kids, not to be scared, but certainly to constantly be aware of their surroundings. If something doesn't seem right, perhaps it's not."

The Republic School District also issued a statement saying, "The safety of our students and employees is our number one priority, and to ensure this safety we must all work together. We must continue to encourage each other to be aware of potential safety threats and report them, as in this case.

This awareness and subsequent action is the best defense in keeping our schools safe."

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Source: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2018/02/18/republic-boy-said-hed-shoot-up-school-ak-47-police-say-hes-been-arrested/349397002/