Charges to be filed against some Mesa students

MESA, Ariz. - In the past two weeks, 17 threats of violence have been made within Mesa Public Schools. The police department is calling this an online, nationwide trend.

Six juveniles were reported to police in the last week, and Mesa Police say charges are being filed against them.

Despite police intervention, some parents are still concerned.

On Sept. 19, parents attended a meeting at Stapley Junior High School where Mesa PD investigated two different lists targeting students.

Parents say their kids are scared, and some aren't coming to school.

"It’s not a joke when you post something like that," said a parent named Sandi Farnsworth.

Some parents shared concerns regarding transparency from the school district.

"I’m here to advocate to have more communication with the parents and students themselves with what’s going on as it’s going on. My son and his friends were very scared and they weren’t spoken to with what I felt was a good timeframe," Farnsworth said.

Another parent, Morgan Allen, said, "I still have five younger children below the son of mine who is at this junior high, and they’re all in Mesa Public Schools. I’m really hoping to gain some kind of a plan, an idea of a plan they have to face this type of thing going forward."

School district leaders and Mesa PD say they are taking every threat seriously despite not finding any credibility to the recent threats.

"We have been working around the clock with our partners at Mesa Police Department to investigate every lead, and we are realizing most of these are jokes, but the police department has filed charges on four students for disrupting the educational environment," Andi Fourlis, superintendent of Mesa Public Schools, said.

‘It’s not a joke anymore’

"We investigate every threat that comes in and investigate it thoroughly. We have our SROs that are tied in to a lot of the students, and so we don’t take any of that stuff lightly because one mistake can lead to tragedy, and we don’t want that," Mesa Police Det. Richard Encinas said.

Parents are saying recent national events make them extra protective when hearing about any threat to their kids' schools.

"Especially when what happened a few weeks ago with those children when those lives were lost, it’s not a joke anymore," Farnsworth said. "Unfortunately, they may need to show them as an example."

Starting Monday, Sept. 23, weapons detection systems will be in place at Stapley Junior High, with all other Mesa Public Schools junior highs to follow. All the district's high schools already have them installed.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ‘REPORT, DON'T REPOST’ CAMPAIGN TO CURB VIOLENCE AMONG JUVENILES

Mesa PD details the last six cases

"On September 12, 2024, three students came forward to report hearing another student at Eastmark High School say that they were going to shoot up the school. The 17-year-old suspect will be facing charges of threatening and intimidating.

On September 13, 2024, three more students from Eastmark High School reported hearing another student threaten to shoot up Eastmark High School and their previous school. The 13-year-old student was referred to Juvenile Court for two counts of threatening and intimidating (one for each school.)

Also on September 13, 2024, two students from Mountain View High School reported that another student threatened to shoot up the school. The 15-year-old suspect was referred to Juvenile Court for one count of threatening and intimidating.

On September 16, 2024, Bush Elementary School received a suspicious call from a young man reporting a shooter on school grounds. Responding officers confirmed there was no shooter. The 11-year-old caller was identified and contacted. He now faces charges of false reporting of terrorism and interfering with an educational institution.

On September 17, 2024, two students from Stapley Junior High reported a social media threat showing names of other students from their school in a post titled "The List." Officers learned that the list was made in March 2024 by a 13-year-old student who was charged with disruption of an educational facility at that time. Charges are pending for threatening and intimidating currently.

On September 19, 2024, officers became aware of a new list of names circling within Stapley Junior High. Officers have identified a suspect and are actively working this case."