Students in Texas were told they would be suspended if they protest gun violence, on the same day a local 14-year-old was charged over a shooting threat.

In a letter to parents, Curtis Rhodes, the Needville Independent School District’s superintendent, said it would “not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness”.

He added: “Should students choose to do so, they will be suspended from school for 3 days and face all the consequences that come along with an out of school suspension.

“Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved. All will be suspended for 3 days and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline.”

The message was also posted on Needville High’s School’s Facebook page, the Houston Chronicle reported. It appeared to have been later deleted.

Parents were also sent the note on Tuesday,

On the same day a student at Needville Junior High School was arrested after allegedly posting an image of a shotgun on Snapchat, with a caption which read, “Don’t come to skoo tm (sic) @needvill”.

The teenager, who has not been named because he is a minor, is being held in juvenile detention centre.

The letter was initially sent in response to planned nationwide student protests in the wake of the Florida school shooting, which claimed the lives of 17 people.

Florida shooting – in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting – in pictures Florida shooting – in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting – in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting – in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting – in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting – in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting – in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP

The massacre triggered an outcry from survivors, who have been calling for stricter gun laws to be put in place.

Earlier this week, hundreds of students at a Florida school walked out of their classes and marched towards Stoneman Douglass High School, the scene of the shooting.