‘It was just a joke’

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – A Lakota East student has been arrested for allegedly making a social media post threatening the school, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office announced.

The sheriff’s office said it was notified just after midnight Thursday morning of a school threat on Snapchat. The post was made by a 17-year-old student who attends Lakota East, the sheriff’s office said.

The gist of the message, according to the sheriff’s office, was: “I’m going to shoot up the school tomorrow, be prepared.”

Liberty Township police and West Chester police found the teen at home, where they told officers they had posted the message but “it was just a joke.”

The teen was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center, where they were charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony.

“The word ‘joke’ is defined as something said or done for laughs,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a news release. “No one is laughing and we have another juvenile in custody for this, which is just sad.”