A 13-year-old girl in Splendora, Texas, was arrested after creating a fake Facebook profile and harassing her classmates, then threatening her entire hometown. The girl wrote to a classmate suffering from cancer that he “should have died,” and then posted “I am going to kill everyone in Splendora on July 13^th.”

Officials in the investigation said that Facebook did not cooperate at first, though eventually they lent their assistance. Less than a day later, the girl was under arrest.

“We realized a 13-year-old child will use poor judgment, and make mistakes, but we have to take threats like these seriously,” said Constable Kenneth Hayden. “In light of so many incidents in recent years where suspects announced their intentions through social media, such as the mass shooting at the University of California in May, these threats cannot be ignored.”

The girl was charged with making terroristic threats, and all of her electronic devices were confiscated.

Even though 13-year-olds are allowed on the site, instances like this still demonstrate the importance of parents supervising their children’s’ use of social media. While comments like these can seem harmless when written, they often have serious and far-reaching consequences that most young users can’t comprehend.

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