Frisco police have taken a juvenile into custody after they say the teen posted a false news article about Ebola on Twitter, causing a public panic.
According to the Frisco Police Department, the teen's false report contained inaccurate reports of Ebola cases in Frisco, specifically within the Frisco Independent School District.
As of this writing, there is only one confirmed case of Ebola in North Texas, that of 42-year-old Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan is being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and is in serious, but stable, condition.
Dallas County health officials are monitoring a number of people who came into contact with Duncan while he was symptomatic, but none of those people have shown symptoms of Ebola and none have been identified as living in Collin County.
Police said the teen's false reports prompted numerous inquiries to the district by concerned parents and caused several students to miss school, police said.
"We take the safety and well-being of our community seriously, especially when it involves our youth" said Lt. Jason Jenkins, "This incident caused an unjustified fear within our community and within the Frisco Independent School District. We are proud of our officers and the Frisco ISD staff who worked fast to prove it was false."
The teen was taken into custody at Frisco High School on Thursday.
According to the Texas Penal Code, filing a false report "is a Class A misdemeanor unless that report is of an emergency involving a public or private institution of higher education or involving a public primary or secondary school, public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service, in which event the offense is a state jail felony."
The investigation into the false report is ongoing, Frisco police said.
