Former Leander Student Arrested For School Threats

LEANDER, TX — A former Leander student was arrested Wednesday for posting threatening images on social media and claims he could have shot up a church, according to a published report.

A Leander school district safety director alerted police to the threats made by Viet Quoc Duong, 18, in safeguarding Vandegrift High School, the Austin American-Statesman reported in referencing details of an arrest affidavit.

Duong is said to have posted disturbing images to social media Tuesday night while attending a high school choir performance, according to the report. According to the affidavit, Duong had been kicked out of the choir group while he was still a student last year.

As a result, “Duong has resentment and animosity toward the choir group and the class,” the affidavit reads. "He has older Instagram posts that depict his anger and these are mostly with a theme of violence.”

As the choir group performed at University Presbyterian Church near the University of Texas campus Tuesday night, Duong allegedly posted a photo to his Instagram account centered on a pew with a caption that said, “Coulda shot up that church and it would’ve felt like Disneyland,” according to the report.

Another image showed Duong in a vehicle holding a gun, the affidavit detailed.

With heightened anxiety nationally over school shootings, administrators took quick action to alert law enforcement officials of the threats. Consequently, Duong was booked into the Travis County Jail on a charge of making a terroristic threat — a third-degree felony punishable up to 10 years in prison. Duong is being held on $25,000 bail, according to Travis County Jail records.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

Viet Quoc Duong booking photo via Travis County Jail records