Coventry High Teen Charged in Family Court

COVENTRY, RI -- The Coventry High student accused of posting a Snapchat video threatening classmates was charged with disorderly conduct, according to Col. John MacDonald, police chief.

The 15-year old was arraigned this afternoon, he said. He was placed on home confinement and ordered to have no contact with the victim or with the school.

He will be required to undergo a mental health evaluation, and he is also restricted from using social media, MacDonald said.

"We are pleased that the joint effort and communication between the PoliceDepartment and the School Department allowed for the investigation to proceed rapidly and brought this situation to a quick resolution," the chief added.

Police said another student on Wednesday saw the Snapchat video and alerted the School Resource Officer. The video appeared to show a student loading a gun, and its caption advised students "don't go to school tomorrow."

That same night, the Juvenile Detective went to the high school, spoke to school officials and collected more information about the students involved and the suspect. The preliminary investigation led the police to believe the student was not actually a threat and the gun in the video was an airsoft replica gun.
Detectives then went to the student's home and spoke with his parents and with him. Police said the youngster handed over the replica gun and gave police a written statement about the incident.

MacDonald said there was no credible threat. However, out of "an abundance of caution," the he sent extra patrols this morning to the school.

"Once we had a full understand of the situation, we made every effort to inform parents and the community as quickly as we could that the threat was investigated and addressed.