This week in Virginia, a college student was arrested after posting a threatening message on social media warning of an upcoming event similar to the 2007 mass shooting on the Virginia Tech campus.
Student arrested after threatening Virginia Tech Yik Yak post
21-year-old Kiung Moon, a senior majoring in business information technology at Virginia Tech, posted a message on Yik Yak on Tuesday night warning of "another 4.16 moment." The Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg police departments were alerted to the posting and immediately launched an investigation.
According to Blacksburg police, Moon turned himself in at the Virginia Tech Police Department and was taken into custody the next afternoon.
The post appeared on the anonymous social media site about 11:15 p.m., Tuesday. It stated that "another 4.16 moment is going to happen tomorrow. Just a warning."
Blacksburg and Virginia Tech police began investigating the post almost immediately after it appeared, according to the release. Officials noted that Virginia Tech was not specifically mentioned in Tuesday’s threat.
"Many people believe social media sites like Yik Yak are 100 percent anonymous," Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson said. "People need to be aware that if you're going to engage in this type of behavior, we are going to aggressively investigate."
In the end, police didn't believe the message to be a credible threat, and the university did not see the need to cancel classes. Moon is charged with one count of harassment by computer, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
In instances like this, better to be safe than sorry. Also, this guy is a moron.
More here: VA Tech police make arrest following social media threat