INWOOD, W.Va. — A former Musselman High School student was charged with making online threats about going on a shooting rampage at the school.
Deputies with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department arrested Justin Light, 21, of the Inwood area, on Monday morning.
According to deputies, Light hacked another former student’s Twitter account to post a series of threatening messages:
“IM SHOOTING UP MUSSELMAN HIGH ON MONDAY MORNING THIS ISN’T A JOKE. DONT GO TO SCHOOL IF YOU DONT WANT TO DIE,” read one tweet that was sent Sunday morning.
Later, there was another post that read, “IM RUNNIN IN THERE GUNS BLAZIN. I ONLY GOT 6 SHOTS BUT IM’A BE GOOD. PRAY FOR ME.”
While many students at Musselman High School stayed home Monday following the threats, there was a visible law enforcement presence at the school.
Laura Sutton, assistant superintendent for Berkeley County schools, told MetroNews attendance was below 50 percent at Musselman.
“Whether or not the threat was a hoax or if it was a joke, the panic and the fear were real with our students and that’s something we certainly don’t take lightly,” Sutton said.
Light was being held in the Eastern Regional Jail on Monday afternoon. He was accused of making threats of terrorist acts.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and West Virginia state police were part of the investigation.