Stonington High School Student Arrested For Twitter Posts

A student is facing charges for threatening messages he posted on his Twitter account.

On Saturday, March 24, charged the 17-year-old student with breach of peace.

The Stonington Police Department began posts that included tweets with the phrase “#letsblowupshs,” after a reporter notified the department of the messages.

On Twitter using a hash tag and then word or phrase is a way to easily let people search for a particular topic and/or attempt to make something a popular Twitter topic.

According to The Day the 17-year old Stonington High School student began posting tweets that included “#letsblowupshs,” at the beginning of March. The Day reported that the student continued the Twitter postings throughout the month including the following string of tweets:

• “If I could kill someone and get way with it I think I would.”
• “I haven’t been this sad in a long time.”

The student has since made his Twitter account private so only approved friends can see the posts. Stonington Police Captain Jerry Desmond told The Day he was surprised the police department did not learn about the postings earlier as many high school students follow the student on Twitter.

Following a , students at the high school attended counseling sessions on Thursday, March 22, with a focus on how to ask for help when they or another student is in need. A medical incident involving a different high school student prompted those counseling sessions.

Stonington Public Schools informed families of the Twitter posts and police investigation on Friday. 

“It was brought to our attention today that a social media post dated 3 weeks ago has warranted investigation by the Stonington Police department,” the email from Stonington Public Schools stated. “The police and school administration have taken appropriate measures to ensure the safety of students and staff. No danger to school, students or staff exists.”