YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY)- School Districts in Yuma County have seen several threats this week, but law enforcement shares this recent surge in threats is not just here in Arizona. It’s a nationwide trend happening all across the country.
The recent surge has left many parents and students feeling overwhelmed and with questions. We spoke with the Yuma Police Chief to dive into the issue.
“If we find, and we can charge them, we will charge them. It is only fair because people have to learn you cannot be doing this,” said Yuma Police Department Chief Thomas Garrity.
Law enforcement investigations say they have found several copy cat social media threats. They remind the community that these investigations take time from door knocks, contacting social media platforms, and going through reposts one by one to find the original source.
The latest threat took place Tuesday morning. The Yuma Police Department investigated a verbal threat of violence at Gila Ridge High School. A 17-year-old student admitted to making a threat but didn’t intend to carry it out. Charges will be sent to the Yuma County Juvenile Justice Center.
No matter how the threat is issued, Yuma Police say they take all of them very seriously and train over 25 hours a year on active violence training to stay prepared in case of emergencies.
“We took this job to be a guardian of the community, and we will lay down our lives to protect others. And that’s the important thing for the community to understand. We will do this whatever the cost is to save these kids,” said Yuma Police Department Chief Thomas Garrity.
Police say they work with the FBI, Border Patrol, and Homeland Security to track down the threats. Officers and schools ask the community to contact police to report a threat.
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