A 13-year-old girl has been arrested after she allegedly made a gun gesture with her fingers and pointed it at other students.
The child, who attends Westridge Middle School in Overland Park, Kansas, was detained on September 18 after police were made aware of the incident via the Shawnee Mission School District's online reporting portal.
The 13-year-old was questioned by school officials and an Overland Park school resource officer, along with another student who corroborated the actions of the child.
The officer arrested the juvenile and transported her to an appropriate facility. Charges of criminal threats were then filed by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office.
"The school district has a policy regarding intimidation, bullying and actions that may be a threat," Overland Police said in a statement to Newsweek.
"Too often there are reports of violence in schools and inevitably questions about what could or done to prevent the tragedy.
"Threats in schools are taken very seriously and treated appropriately.
"Ensuring the safety of everyone in a school, or community, is a top priority and requires constant vigilance, parents reminding their children of proper behavior in school and an understanding by the public that each case is thoroughly investigated before any arrest is made and a charge filed," the department added.
Dave Smith, a spokesperson for the Shawnee Mission School District, told KSHB: "I want to be very clear: The arrest of this student was wholly unrelated to any district policy.
"It was a municipal police department decision, and our policies don't impact police department decisions."
In other news, a 14-year-old girl in Ohio was arrested after allegedly posting a "kill list" which included other fellow students and President Donald Trump.
The freshman at Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala, Ohio, was detained after the Licking County Sheriff's Office received information regarding the alleged threats, which appeared on a school online chat room.
Police said that girl, who has not been named as she is a juvenile, had "no means to carry out the threats and there is no immediate danger to students, staff or others mentioned on the list."
She was arrested on suspicion of making terrorist threats and sent to a juvenile detention facility pending her first court appearance.
"The Licking County Sheriff's Office has, and shall continue to have, a zero tolerance policy on threats to our schools," Sheriff Randy Thorp said in a statement.
"It is our hope, as always, that children who make these threats can receive necessary assistance at the guidance of the court and learn from the experience."
