In 6 minutes, fake Snapchat threat to kill at Logan High spreads throughout school — two students charged with terroristic threats

It took about six minutes for a threat to kill students and teachers at Logan High School to spread over Snapchat.

A Logan student allegedly created a fake Snapchat account and sent out the threat from the school’s cafeteria on the morning of Nov. 21, that eventually led to around 150 calls to the school and police from the community, according to La Crosse police.

Two students were referred to Youth Justice for charges of making terroristic threats. Their names, ages or grades were not released by police.

This is one of six threats to local schools in the past month and a half — the latest Monday at Onalaska Middle School. Two of them have been deemed hoaxes. Central High’s threat also led to charges.

It all appeared to have started in the Logan cafeteria, as one of the students involved created the fake account, then posted the following: 

“Aye, I’m finna shoot up Logan High after Thanksgiving break. I will only kill 8 students and 2 teachers. I’ve been getting bullied ever since school started and I’m tired of it, either join me or die too.” The Snapchat message written below indicated, “Repost this!!!!””

From that fake account, it appears as though the student sent that Snap to themselves — to their real account — and the other student involved in the incident. A screenshot of the threat was then shared on the students’ Snap story, where it spread, leading to a bit of a panic.

Watching video surveillance of the cafeteria, police could see the story unfold. The two students involved were laughing. At one point, they shake hands or, as police described, they “dabs up,” and one begins rolling with laughter lying on a table.

It takes about six minutes from the students’ interactions in the cafeteria for word to get to the School Resource Officer (SRO) about the threat. At the same time Logan Principal Wally Gnewikow had been shown the same Snap.

The school proceeded to get at least 100 phone calls throughout the day from parents and community members, while La Crosse County Dispatch also received about 50 calls about the threat, police said.

From the report, it looks as though the school figured out who the first two students were to get the Snap and they were called in.

One of those students told the SRO the other had created the fake account. But, because both had known about sending out such a threat and sharing it to their story on Snapchat, they were both being charged.