AUGUSTA — Police are working with the Augusta School Department to investigate a ‘concerning’ social media post made by a student at Cony Middle and High School on Monday night.
“Last night, Cony Administration received a report that a student posted a Snapchat story that had a picture of a gun and concerning words,” district officials posted on the school’s website Tuesday morning. “The Augusta Police Department was notified immediately.”
Snapchat is a social media platform that lets users send photos and videos with text, including ones that automatically disappear after they are viewed. A Snapchat story can be viewed for 24 hours or until the poster deletes it.
A copy of the image obtained by the Kennebec Journal shows a person’s hand on a rifle with the words “Finna shoot this (expletive) tmr,” and a red blood drop emoji.
Augusta’s Deputy Police Chief Kevin Lully confirmed the department is investigating the post.
“Although it is a concerning picture, no threat was actually conveyed,” Lully said.
The student who made the post is not currently in the continental United States, district officials said. It is unclear how old the student is.
“We will continue our investigation in collaboration with the Augusta Police Department when the student returns to Maine,” said Principal Kim Liscomb.
A parent first alerted school officials to the image, according to Liscomb, who notified authorities around 9 p.m. Monday.
Police officers, in addition to the school resource officer, were stationed at the school at 60 Pierce Drive on Tuesday out of caution.
The campus includes Cony Middle and High School, which collectively enroll about 1,000 students. The Capital Area Technical Center is also located there.
The incident comes less than two weeks after two youths were charged with terrorizing after they reportedly emailed a threat of violence to students and staff of Waterville Public Schools. A teenager was also charged with terrorizing in late March after posting an image of a gun and threatening words on social media, prompting schools in the Skowhegan area to close.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
