SOUTH MILWAUKEE — A threat on social media that sparked concern among families in South Milwaukee led to the arrest of a 12-year-old girl near Phoenix, Arizona.
The child was booked on felony charges, including making a terroristic threat.
South Milwaukee police tell TMJ4 that the child has previous ties to the area but no prior record with local law enforcement. They also say she admitted to making the threat on the social media platform TikTok.
Watch: Parents react after Arizona girl arrested for threat against South Milwaukee school
"It wasn't a plan, wasn't specific to South Milwaukee Middle School in the post, but it had those initials in the tagline of the profile. We took it very seriously. Parents reported it to us because their kids had seen it," South Milwaukee Superintendent of Schools Deidre Roemer explained.
Roemer says they worked with police to ensure it was safe to open schools on Monday.
Wisconsin's Department of Justice announced on Monday that it has received more than 120 tips on planned school attacks so far this school year, describing it as "a spike."
Parents outside the district tell TMJ4 that seeing people held accountable for school threats sends a message, but it's a tough situation.
"If they didn't take the right punishment, who knows where that would've led to?" parent Abbie Anderegg said.
"There’s nothing to me that’s going to say lock a 12-year-old up, but the parent in me says find some help for the 12-year-old," Antoine Williams stated.
Roemer strongly encourages the public to report anything that might concern safety.
Criminal charges for the 12-year-old will be handled in Arizona. TMJ4 News has requested information from the courts but has not received a response yet.
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