Two teen-age boys from the Chesterton area are in custody after police said they allegedly made a threat to the Valparaiso schools using social media Thursday, including posting a picture of weapons, police said.
A 13-year-old boy allegedly told Siri, “I am going to shoot up a school,” and the reply identified multiple Valparaiso schools because of where he was at the time, Valparaiso police said.
He then allegedly shared a screenshot of his Siri inquiry and the response on social media, police said, adding they identified him as a student at Chesterton Middle School. The post also included pictures of weapons from the 14-year-old.
The younger teen was visiting family in Valparaiso and no direct threat was made to a specific school or school system, Valparaiso school officials said in a release to parents.
His social media contacts shared the alleged threat with Chesterton police who contacted authorities in Valparaiso, Valparaiso police said.
A Chesterton school resource officer and a Porter police detective learned from that investigation that the 14-year-old was involved, and, according to a release from Porter police, the boy reportedly acknowledged photographs of weapons were taken but denied involvement in making any threats.
The photographs of the weapons were possibly taken in the fall, Porter police said, adding the 14-year-old had no current access to the weapons.
The stated threat made no direct threat to any specific school, Porter police said, however, the threats are taken seriously and handled accordingly.
“It has since been discovered the (younger) male had no access to weapons and posted the picture on social media as a joke,” Valparaiso police said, adding the threat is not believed to be credible at this time, “however these types of communications are taken very seriously by the Valparaiso Police Department and our community.”
Valparaiso police will continue to work with the Valparaiso Community Schools to ensure the safety of the students and staff, police said.
The 13-year-old is in custody at the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center on a felony charge of intimidation, and the older teen is being held on felony charges of intimidation and criminal recklessness with a handgun, reportedly based on photographs that were taken and present on his cellphone, police said.
The incident remains under investigation by Valparaiso, Porter and Chesterton police.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.