AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A new report shows a sharp increase in arrests of Texas students for threatening violence in the wake of the deadly high school shooting in February in Parkland, Florida.
The report was released Tuesday by Texas Appleseed, a social justice advocacy group, and other organizations.
It says that according to Texas Juvenile Justice Department data, more than 1,200 arrests were made from January through May for terroristic threats. That compares to 473 such arrests during the same period last year.
The report says there were 259 arrests for exhibition of firearms from January through May, compared to 37 in those months last year. The offense doesn’t require possessing a firearm, and the report says most of the students accused didn’t have one.
The report says its review suggests many schools aren’t distinguishing between students who pose a threat and those who don’t.
