A 12-year-old Minnesota boy is scheduled to appear at a hearing later this week after he was arrested Wednesday morning for making two prank 911 calls.
According to the Associated Press, a 911 caller said there was a shooter with an AK-47 and a couple of victims at New Prague Middle School. With the Newtown, CT elementary school shooting tragedy still fresh in mind, the call prompted a lockdown of the middle school, high school and Central Education Campus buildings.
New Prague Police Chief Mark Vosejpka said the boy is believed to have made the calls from an emergency cell phone only capable of calling 911, According to the Pioneer Press.
The child's attorney, Marsh Halberg, said the boy could face terroristic threats charges, which is a felony for adults. Halberg went on to say the boy is dealing with "some life issues," according to the Pioneer Press article. The boy's parents reportedly said their son doesn't have access to a gun or intended to harm other students.
The boy is still in juvenile detention until the hearing on either Thursday or Friday this week.
So, for this week's Parents Talk discussion, Patch asks: Do you think the boy should be held in juvenile detention until the hearing? What sort of consequences should he face, if any? Are authorities overreacting? Tell us in the comments below.
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Coverage of the New Prague incident:
