Edmonds District Student Emergency Expelled Over Social Media Post

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, WA - A Mountlake Terrace High School student was emergency expelled on Wednesday after he posted a photo of bullets on Instagram with the caption "be prepared," the district says.

Principal Greg Schwab began receiving complaints about the post early Wednesday morning from parents, staff, and students, Edmonds School District spokesperson Debbie Jakala told Patch.com. Schwab decided to call police to alert them of the post.

The district emergency-expelled the student because of the disruption the post caused and the need to get him off campus. The student told police that he did not intend the post to be a threat; he said that he just liked the image.

The emergency expulsion is not permanent, however, and the student may meet with district officials at a future date to reenter school. The district has not decided whether to enforce further punishment, like a suspension, Jakala said.

Jakala noted that the post went viral within the school community, which caused unsubstantiated information to spread, causing other problems, like parents keeping their children home from school.

"It went viral in the school comunity, and it actually perpetuated and caused more problems," she said. "Just like it was irresponsible for him [to post the image], to share the post and not let authorities take the time to investigate can cause a lot of disruption."

Image via Google Maps