Queens high school student arrested with gun after allegedly threatening to "shoot the school up"
A Queens high school student was arrested with a gun after allegedly threatening to open fire at a school, authorities said Thursday.
Police were notified at around 11:30 a.m. about a social media post allegedly threatening a shooting at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens.
A 16-year-old 10th grade student was arrested. Police said he's been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and making terrorist threats.
"This afternoon we are breathing a sigh of relief because Cardozo High School students and staff are all safe," Mayor Eric Adams said. "Earlier today, a 16-year-old student was arrested with a gun after posting on social media that he was going to 'shoot the school up.'"
Adams called it "the perfect example of the system working properly."
"Someone saw the post from the student and did what we ask all New Yorkers to do -- if you see something, say something, but most importantly do something, and that is what they did," Adams said. "We potentially saved the lives of a lot of students and staff today, and I don't want to imagine a world where we would be making a different announcement right now."
Timeline of alleged threat to arrest
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch provided more details about what happened.
It started with a post on social media that went up at 10:17 a.m., she said. The post had a caption threatening to "shoot the school up." That post was noticed by the FBI, who contacted the NYPD at 11:33 a.m. The FBI provided the NYPD with the Instagram account holder's name, date of birth and phone number. They also provided a location, based on geotag information in the post. Police were on the scene at the school at 11:45 a.m.
The student was quickly located and removed from his class without incident, Tisch said.
"The officers then dialed the phone number associated with the Instagram account, at which point one of the subject's phones rang," Tisch said.
Police contacted one of the student's parents, who consented to a search of his belongings.
"Inside his backpack, officers recovered a black, semiautomatic handgun, a 9mm Taurus GX4. The gun was loaded with 13 rounds in the magazine," Tisch said.
"This swift response demonstrates the importance of close partnerships and the critical need for information-sharing to ensure our city and students are protected against unnecessary acts of violence," the FBI said in a statement.
"I feel really surprised, and I feel really shocked too, and scared, because I feel like nobody should have to go through any concerns like this. I feel like we should all learn in a safe environment where we don't have to worry about being shot," fellow student Cyrus Cordero said.
"A real wake up call for our city, and our country"
Tisch said the Cardozo is not a scanning school, and there have been no gun-related offenses reported there in the past year.
"I'll be honest. As a mother of two young school-age boys, I am shaken. But as your police commissioner, I am resolute in ensuring the NYPD does everything in our power to keep our children safe," Tisch said. "I have a message for all parents today. While this incident is terrifying, it is an example of the law enforcement apparatus at the federal and local levels doing everything right. It is literally the system, our protocols, our training and our processes working just as they should."
"It makes me feel really uncomfortable, honestly. Because for us being a no-scan school, that means we aren't 100% safe. That never really happens for us to be a no-scan school. So for me to be hearing that it's like, oh my god, what if there was a school shooting?" student Milan White said.
No one was hurt, but officials stress that vigilance and reporting threats made all the difference.
"We're seeing a 16-year-old with a handgun in a school and threatening to shoot the school up. We are screwing our children up, and we have to be honest what we are doing. We're sending them mixed messages. We're watching a high level of depression, suicidal thoughts. We're seeing them trying to figure out what is their right pathway. We could've been standing here making a different announcement, and that has to trouble all of us," Adams said. "If you're a parent, and if you're not concerned about what we're seeing unfold in our city, we have to question ourselves. What was a 16-year-old doing with a semiautomatic weapon, or a weapon, and indicating he was going to take the life of other students? That is coming from somewhere. And we have to recommit ourselves to saving these children ... this is a real wake up call for our city, and our country."