ROCKLIN-
Three Rocklin area teens face serious charges for allegedly making threats of violence at two schools on social media. Some of the threats targeted Whitney High School, and some mentioned Rocklin High School and Friday’s date, May 30, 2014.
On Friday, students in Rocklin Unified School District can expect to see increased police presence on campus as a precaution.
Thursday afternoon, Rocklin Police first learned of growing rumors about an attack at Whitney High School planned for Friday. Parents told administrators about the rumors and growing concerns of gun violence passed on from their students.
Investigators found an Instagram account created several weeks ago with a description of “Whitney High School new world order 5/30/14”. Some students followed the account initially out of curiosity, and only told parents and administrators Thursday when they realized the date referenced in the profile was Friday. The account had been inactive since mid-April.
Officers and administrators alerted parents and students about the investigation, which led to more tips about possible suspects.
Rocklin Unified School District and Rocklin Police used social media to continue their investigation into the threats. Although the initial Instagram account had no mention of guns or violence, detectives uncovered other references to gun violence and school threats on twitter and other social media sites that appeared to be connected to the Instagram account.
Courtesy: Rocklin Police Department
After looking into several leads and social media posts, officers tracked down three teens they believed were responsible; two juveniles and one 18-year-old were arrested.
The two juveniles were booked into Placer County Juvenile Hall for annoying electronic communications and criminal threats. The 18-year-old, identified as Justin Herrmann, was booked into the Placer County Jail for making criminal threats and obstructing an investigation.
This incident comes on the heels of two arrests at nearby Roseville High School after two seniors allegedly burned the graduation stage and stadium turf.
