Harris County Task Force officers assigned to the FBI arrested a former Edinburg CISD student on Friday in relation to a shooting threat made to Robert Vela High School via email Thursday.
According to the school district, that individual is a male juvenile who is facing felony charges.
At a news conference Friday, Edinburg CISD police Chief Ricardo Perez said the name of the individual hadn’t been released to him yet and that the investigation was in its early stages.
He described the suspect as a former Rio Grande Valley resident who was a student at the district last year.
That suspect allegedly sent an email to an assistant principal at Vela that used the word “shoot,” Perez said, citing examples like “I’m going to shoot the school” and “there’s going to be a shooting.” Perez said he hadn’t yet been apprised of how credible those threats were.
The district responded Thursday by notifying parents and deploying additional law enforcement, Perez said. The district also contacted the FBI, who Perez said were “instrumental” in identifying and locating the suspect.
“The message that we want to send is no matter how far you are, or no matter how far you make a threat, with our law partners, we’re going to identify you and you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” he said.
According to Perez, that suspect is facing charges for threatening a learning institution and has been detained in Harris County.
FBI assists in arresting man for threats against Edinburg Vela High School
“The individual confessed and now he’s under arrest. He’s gonna be charged with felony charges at the state level,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Marcus Joachim, who was also at Friday’s news conference.
Valley school districts faced a glut of threats at the tail end of last semester in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in May.
A number of Valley districts have faced additional threats that resulted in arrests during this semester.
The district’s superintendent, Mario Salinas, said Friday that threats take a toll on districts. Parents get alarmed, he said, and districts expend significant resources trying to maintain order.
Valley law enforcement have responded to threats since the tragedy in Uvalde by emphasizing that law enforcement will treat potential threats seriously, regardless of how credible they seem to be.
Authorities have said perpetrators of potential threats will face serious consequences.
District and law enforcement representatives reiterated that message at Friday’s news conference.
“I wanna say that for those that are out there that want to threaten our schools, whether joking or seriously…you are playing with fire,” Salinas said. “You are going to get arrested and we are going to file all applicable charges.”
