Teen Charged In Fallout From Southington 'Racist' Message

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested by the Southington Police Department Detective Division in connection with a "racist" social media message allegedly made by a Southington High School student that was discovered on Dec. 13, police said.

The teen was taken into custody on Thursday, police said.

Police and school system officials said the community was already on edge after a racially charged chat room post involving a student last week was copied to Twitter and a subsequent gun threat made at the school. The gun threat set off a whirlwind of chatter on social media channels.

See more on the incident here.

An extra police presence was at the school for the past two days and will likely carry over until Friday, police said.

The 17-year-old was charged with breach of peace and is scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Jan 2, police said.

The case remains sealed and detectives do not anticipate any further arrests, police said.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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