EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 As the school year comes to a close, authorities are warning students about the consequences of making school threats. <\/p>\n
Speaking to KFOX14\/CBS4 on Monday, the El Paso County Attorney’s office said that towards the end of the school year, it sees an increase in false threats against schools.<\/p>\n
According to the county attorney’s office, there have been five cases reported so far this year, compared to about 20 cases reported last year. <\/p>\n
“It’s about the same trend; we did see a large increase over the last year. However, it’s been on par with what we’ve seen the last few years,” April Galvan, El Paso County Attorney’s Office, said. <\/p>\n
The county attorney’s office is warning that whether these reported threats are a joke or not, there are consequences. <\/p>\n
“The way that we see these types of threats is one, this person is joking, and they’re causing an alarm at the school; well, that’s an offense. The other aspect that we see is maybe this person wasn’t joking, and maybe they were serious, maybe they were wanting to get a weapon and take it to school and use it, and that’s an offense too,” Galvin said. <\/p>\n
Galvan added that there are other consequences people need to consider, including possibly being held in custody for 48-hours if you are arrested, putting your family through a house search, and a felony record. <\/p>\n
The county attorney’s office is not the first to warn against the threats, as the FBI El Paso shared a post on social media last week about how school districts are seeing a high volume of threats. <\/p>\n
The agency reminded the community to think before posting, adding that every reported threat is investigated. <\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: EPISD keeps officers at West El Paso high school after non-credible threat<\/a><\/p>\n