Middle Schooler Charged After Gun Threats: New Brunswick PD

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A New Brunswick middle schooler was arrested after he made comments about having a gun in his backpack, police said. The boy did not have a gun.

The 12-year-old allegedly made the comments about having a gun at the end of the school day on Monday at New Brunswick Middle School. School officials contacted police, who did not find a gun in the students backpack, or in his home.

"The New Brunswick Police Department and the New Brunswick Public Schools take these threats very seriously. Even if students perceive them as jokes, the consequences can be serious. The New Brunswick Police Department reminds everyone... If you see or hear something suspicious, report it to an authority so it can be properly investigated," police said.

This is not the first time in recent weeks a New Jersey middle schooler has faced charges for alleged threats. A 12-year-old from Vineland was charged earlier this month for saying he would "shoot up" this school, and a 13-year-old in Jefferson was charged after allegedly making threats on social media.

• Read More: 4 Arrested – Including 12-Year-Old – After More NJ School Threats

Schools across the nation have been on high alert since 17 people, many of them students, were killed and 16 more injured in a Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Threats to schools, many of them turning out to be unsubstantiated, have skyrocketed.

According to The Educator's School Safety Network, there have been 532 school-based threats or violent incidents in the U.S. since the Parkland shooting — an average of 88.7 per school day. In all, 490 schools in 49 states have been threatened or had actual violence happen, according to the group.

Image via Shutterstock