Interesting thing happened this morning (related to school shootings)...

[dcdomain]

Apparently, one of the kids living upstairs (dormitory) jokingly made a post on some forum about shooting the kids here at school tomorrow or something. Someone tipped off the FBI, and they showed up this morning, searched his room, and took him in to get counseling and what not. Obviously the kid is fine, and was just joking about it, but that's how serious the feds are taking it with all the recent school shootings around. I'll see if I can dig up the post he made...

 

Same type of thing happened in this school system in my town.
A few kids were making jokes about killing people, and the cops and FBI pulled them from school and questioned them.
Kicked them out of school for like a week or so.
They are taking it pretty serious.

 

[Elledan]

Problem is of course that those kids who'll start a shooting most likely won't announce this.

But better safe than sorry, right?

 

[BlueScreenVW]

I agree with Elledan: better safe than sorry. I don't live in the USA, but I can perfectly well see your growing dilemma: a tradition of very strong civil rights vs growing violence for no reasons at all. I a case like this (assuming the kid is completely innocent), the important things must be that:
a) The FBI realize in time they made a mistake, admit it, and at the same time take some time to explain to the guy why they are taking this so seriously.
b) Offer at least formal compensation for possible loss of income.

 

[gittyup]

Why are kids so stupid to even joke around about doing that? I mean damn....:disgust:

 

[cipher00]

Jeez, it's like telling the airport security people you have a bomb, or anyone that you want to kill a judge or the president. You can damn well bet that someone is going to check it out. In these instances, even making the statement is a crime.

I did read that most of these student shooters did at least mention it to someone prior to going off (unlike some adults, who often just go off). I sure would take it seriously.

 

[GaryTcs]

In these days of lawsuits and blame the police attitudes, the FBI can't afford not to investigate every threat. If it was at my kids school, I'd want them to.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Yeah, it is sad that this is what we have degenerated to, but you can hardly blame the authorities. Didn't Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold post rather elaborate information about their plans on the Web in advance?

 

[JellyBaby]

I hope I'm not alone in feeling a bit worried about the FBI running rampant like that. They're doing the best they can, I'm sure...at least I'm fairly sure. And it is better to be safe than sorry. If you yell "fire!" in a croweded theatre when there is no fire, you're in trouble. But using the FBI to stamp out these "fires" seems excessive. How soon before the government tags all children and puts permanent locators and video cameras on them?

 

[dcdomain]

Well, I remember someone telling me that the feds told the kid that they would rather put the kid in the slammer wrongly than to not do so and actually have the kid turn out to be the real deal and kill someone.

 

[IcemanJer]

I agree, and that wasn't too smart of those kids making jokes like that.

The airlines have been doing the same thing for a long time now; I remember reading an article a few years ago about some dumb guy giving the stewardess a note saying he has a bomb on the plane. Right when the plane landed there were police and FBI agent there to arrest him. And I think he was jailed as well for some time.