GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — After a scolding by the judge to “grow up,” a teen who made a social media post threatening a shooting at Green Bay West High School was ordered Wednesday to be removed from his home and placed at Rawhide Youth Services.
State law prohibits the media from identifying those being prosecuted in juvenile court.
A social media post threatening a shooting at West High was made on March 15. A teenage boy was taken into custody, and no one was injured.
In court Wednesday, the boy pleaded no contest to using a computer message to threaten injury to others, as well as a battery count from a previous case.
The teen told Judge John Zakowski he and another boy were “talking smack” before it escalated to a threat against the entire school.
Judge Zakowski noted the fear such threats create, calling the social media post “stupid,” “serious,” “hurtful” and “dumb.”
“You created a lot of pain for parents and students. Shame on you,” the judge said. “Students that disrupt the learning environment are hurting other students.”
The teen did not apologize in court, and said he was also the target of bullying and harassment.
The mother of the victim teen reluctantly addressed the court, saying she was hoping for more punishment as a deterrent.
In addition to placement at Rawhide, the teen will be on county supervision for one year, must perform 120 hours of community service, and was barred from using social media.
“I always say, ‘If I had a magic wand,’ the first thing I’d get rid of is drugs. But social media is right behind it,” Zakowski said.
At one point, prosecutors sought to have the 16-year-old moved to adult court, but that was dropped as part of a plea deal, said assistant district attorney Kari Hoffman.
The March threat at West High followed a series of other threats at Preble and East high schools in December.
During the course of a one-week span in December, there were three separate social media threats against Preble High. Four students were charged and now have all been found delinquent — the juvenile version of guilty — in the cases.
A 15-year-old boy was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, write an apology letter to Green Bay schools, participate in victim-witness panels, stay off social media, and enroll in school. He also must write a paper on the emotional toll of school shootings in this country.
A 16-year-old boy responsible for another threat was placed on county supervision until he turns 17 late in the year. In Wisconsin, 17-year-olds are under the jurisdiction of adult courts. He must perform 76 hours of community service, and not use social media while on supervision. He was barred from social media and must write a similar paper on the impact of actual school shootings.
Two teenage girls responsible for another of the Preble threats received a similar sentence, albeit with 100 hours of community service because their supervision time is a full year.
The week after the threats at Preble, a student brought a gun to East High. Two students were found delinquent in those cases.
A 15-year-old boy who provided the gun — and also was found delinquent for a series of other incidents — was placed on two years of supervision at Rawhide Youth Services near New London. He must also perform 100 hours of community service.
The 16-year-old girl who brought the gun to East was placed on supervision for a year, and must perform 100 hours of community service.
The combination of the threats led the school district to place all middle and high schools into online learning for several days in December. No one was injured in any of the events.
