Jason Pohl | The Republic | azcentral.com

Wochit

GoFundMe

A 20-year-old former Arizona State football player is in custody after police said he made "terroristic threats" against students and staff at Arizona State University.

ASU and Tempe police arrested Edward "Robbie" Robinson about 8 p.m. Friday off-campus.

According to the arrest records, Robinson posted on social media that he wanted to buy a gun to shoot people and “spray the stadium.” His bond is set at $50,000.

ASU police became aware about noon Friday of "threats of violence against members of the Sun Devil athletics community," police spokeswoman Katy Harris told The Arizona Republic on Saturday. The university then issued an alert at the Tempe campus.

Robinson, who has not been enrolled at the university for more than a year, was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threats, disruption of an educational institution and possession of marijuana, Harris said.

Harris would not provide additional information about the alleged threat, deferring to court paperwork that should be made available on Monday.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Someone using a Twitter account with the name Robbie Robinson and handle @RobThaProphet tweeted at 10:33 a.m. Friday that he was trying to buy a gun to "spray the stadium up."

"Give me 25. Give me life. Give me liberty or give me death," the Twitter user said in a tweet Friday. "I'm not staying quiet. I'm hurt."

A flurry of posts filled the Twitter feed throughout Friday. One post shares a screenshot of an apparent exchange with ASU police. The screenshot shows a message saying: "It's Detective Herrmann from the ASU police. You're not in trouble. We just want to check on you."

Robinson was ranked by ESPN as the No. 29 rated cornerback prospect in the country as a student at DeMatha High School in Maryland where he maintained a 4.2 GPA, according to a 2016 ASU roster bio. He committed to ASU on July 25, 2015, reportedly turning down scholarships from several other schools.

{{props.notification}} {{props.tag}} {{props.expression}} {{props.linkSubscribe.text}} {{#modules.acquisition.inline}}{{/modules.acquisition.inline}} ... Our reporting. Your stories. Get unlimited digital access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

A GofundMe account titled "Support Robbie Robinson!" was created Saturday by someone saying they are raising money for Robinson's bail. A post on the account describes the 20-year-old as "loving, caring, and radical."

"He speaks with truth and shows love to everyone," the post states. "Everything was a misunderstanding because people took things the wrong way when he was speaking the truth on social media about certain things that has happened in his past."

The account notes that they need to raise $50,000 for his bond.

"Help us get our family member out, he deserves his freedom," the post states.

Other threats made at Valley schools

The incident was the latest in a series of threats made against schools in the Valley and nationwide in the wake of a shooting that killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14.

Low attendance and an "abundance of caution" prompted St. Mary's Catholic High School officials to cancel classes Thursday after a threat against the school spread on social media Wednesday night.

A viral social-media threat against an unspecified high school with the initials "SHS'' caused a stir among communities and school districts across the country Wednesday night, including Mesa.

The Mesa Unified School District sent an email and voice-message blast to families at Skyline High School and Superstition High School Wednesday night, saying police had checked into a social-media post and determined it was not a valid threat.

Also in Arizona, an 18-year-old Coronado High School student was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of posting an apparent threat against the school on social media, Scottsdale police said.

A 16-year-old boy accused of threatening to shoot up his former high school in Chino Valley was questioned by authorities Wednesday and referred for a mental-health evaluation and treatment.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8515, jpohl@azcentral.com or on Twitter: @pohl_jason. Reporter Derek Hall contributed to this story.