A McKinney Boyd High School student is in police custody after a threatening statement was posted on Facebook Monday night, police say.
According to the McKinney Police Department, the teen, who is not being identified due to his age, was taken into custody at about 9:30 p.m. Monday after the McKinney Independent School District told them about a post on the social media site that included details on how to carry out a mass shooting at the high school.
NBC 5 has learned that the teen may have been bullied. Cody Cunningham, the public information officer for the McKinney Independent School District, told NBC 5 that they are aware of reports the student was bullied and that they take bullying seriously, but that they also take threats against the school and the student body seriously.
"These are two separate incidents," Cunningham told NBC 5. "There are ways of reporting that [bullying] to staff and getting help. If a student makes threats to other students, we're going to take that seriously as well. We're not going to use bullying as a way to rationalize this type of behavior."
Officials with the district said the student has no history of disciplinary issues.
Early Tuesday morning, McKinney ISD released the following statement on Facebook about the situation:
“Monday evening we received information regarding threatening statements posted by a McKinney Boyd High School student on Facebook. District officials immediately notified law enforcement agencies and action was taken to address the situation. The individual has been detained and is in custody of the McKinney Police Department. As always, student safety is our number one priority and such comments, whether sincere or as a joke, will not be tolerated and the District will prosecute to the fullest extent that the law allows. We appreciate your support and look forward to a safe and productive day of learning at McKinney Boyd High School on Tuesday.”
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Authorities say there will be more of a police presence Tuesday on the school campus and that the school is safe. Officials with the police department credit the citizens, teachers, parents and students who called them Monday evening with detailed information about the threat.
NBC 5's Shane Allen and Christina Miralla contributed to this report.
