Merced teenager arrested after threatening to ‘shoot up’ school dance, police say

A 14-year-old boy was arrested over the weekend after police said he discussed in a social media video shooting people at a Merced High School dance.

A brief news release, Merced police investigators said the teenager posted a video on Snapchat that said “if he received enough likes on one of his posts, he would shoot up a school dance that was taking place at Merced High School.”

Police worked with school officials to locate the teenager at his home. He told police the posts were “just a joke” and said he wasn’t serious, officers said in the statement.

The 14-year-old was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats.

Merced Police are asking anyone with any information regarding this crime to contact Office Richter at (209) 388-7801. The public can send information via anonymous text messages to the police department by dialing “TIP411” (847411) and including the word “Comvip” as the “keyword” in the text message.