A 17-year-old has been charged after threats were made to multiple Regina high schools Thursday night.

Rumours started circulating on social media Thursday night about someone threatening to shoot students at Martin Collegiate, a west Regina high school, on Friday morning.

Police said they were alerted Thursday night at 7:30 p.m CST. An investigation revealed the threat was not a credible one, they said, and a suspect had been arrested by 12:30 a.m.

Shauna Dunn's son is in Grade 10 at Martin Collegiate. She said her son, who stayed home from school Friday morning, first heard about the rumours through a Snapchat group on Thursday night.

"It just shakes you," she said. "It's like if you had your house or your vehicle broken into. It shakes your sense of safety and security."

By Friday morning Dunn had contacted the police and spoken with other parents who were planning to keep their children home from school.

Regina Public Schools issued a notice to parents of students attending Martin Collegiate after social media threats were made against the school on Thursday. A 17-year-old has been arrested by Regina police. (Alec Solloum/CBC News)

She initially tried to reassure her son that such threats often don't amount to anything.

"But as the messages started going and I could see visibly how upset he was, and scared, I started reading the messages," said Dunn.

Her two sons — the other in kindergarten at nearby Rosemont Elementary School — were both home with her on Friday.

According to Regina Public Schools, attendance at Martin Collegiate was lower than usual on Friday, as many parents decided to keep their children home.

Police officers were at the high school on Friday, as well as at O'Neill High School and Thom Collegiate, which were also mentioned in the threats. Though the threats at those schools were also deemed not to be credible, police were present to help students feel safe.

The 17-year-old accused made his first appearance in court on Friday afternoon. In addition to the counts of uttering threats, he is also facing a charge of breach of an undertaking and failure to comply with a court order.