ROY, Utah (ABC4) — A suspect who allegedly posted online about an upcoming school shooting at Roy High School is now in custody, according to a press release.
A juvenile has been taken into custody after allegedly posting on social media about a shooting that would take place on Monday, Feb. 27, in Roy High School.
“Early on 2-25-2023 Roy City Police Officers were made aware of a social media post circulating which indicated that a school shooting would occur on Monday, 2-27-2023 at Roy High School,” the release said.
An investigation located the suspect responsible for the post within the day. The suspect is currently being referred to juvenile court by Roy City Police and the Weber County Attorney’s Office. Roy High School is also taking “administrative action.”
“Thanks to all who quickly reported this post which helped to swiftly identify the suspect,” officials wrote in the statement.
There have been 87 mass shootings in the United States in the first two months of this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization has been tracking gun violence data since 2013.
Mass shootings have almost doubled since 2014, with annual numbers below 400 until 2019. Since 2020, shootings have been in the 600s, according to data from GVA.
Last year, 57 people were killed and 148 people were injured by gunfire on a school campus, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organization. While this includes violence not related to mass shootings, the deaths and injuries have more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2014.