Teen charged with posting threats on Instagram after his friend was arrested over gun at school
A Coral Springs High School student was arrested early Tuesday morning after police say he took to Instagram to vent his frustration about his friend — a former Coral Springs High student — getting arrested Monday.
His friend, Ryan Trollinger, 17, was arrested Monday after police say he brought a loaded gun to Coral Springs High, causing the school to go on lockdown. He was charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property, possession of a firearm by a minor, and trespassing and disrupting a school function.
In a court hearing, a judge decided Tuesday afternoon that Trollinger will remain locked up in juvenile detention, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
Meanwhile, police said Sebastian Darrah, 18, using the Instagram account supersalivation, posted a picture and foreboding message: “Watch out for round 2 tomorrow springs. We comin guns blazin you locked our n----- up.”
On Monday, police say Trollinger showed up at his former high school with a loaded gun and showed it to another friend in the school’s patio area.
A male student saw the gun and told two girls, who immediately told a school resource officer. The officer found Trollinger in the cafeteria, brought him outside, cuffed him, searched him and found the gun in his waistband, according to Trollinger’s arrest report.
Meanwhile, police locked down the school to search for the student to whom Trollinger showed the gun.
When police found that student, they also found a journal in his pocket depicting violence and warning of a mass shooting. The student, who was not named, was taken to a treatment center under the state’s Baker Act.
Later that evening, police say Darrah used Instagram to complain about Trollinger’s arrest. Police say another student saw the Instagram post at about 1 a.m. and showed his mother, who called police. Police quickly linked the Instagram account to Darrah, police said.
Officers showed up at his Coral Springs apartment knocking on the door.
“Sebastian stated that he did not intend to actually shoot anyone at the school, but meant the post to be a joke,” an officer wrote in his arrest report.
Darrah was charged with a felony for posting a false report of a mass shooting.
Carla Kmiotek, a spokeswoman for Coral Springs police, said the department hopes to send a “strong message” that “we take every threat seriously.”
“We will investigate, arrest and prosecute on these cases,” she said in a statement. “We want to discourage students from creating social media hysteria and realize that you can be arrested for making these social media threats.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Teen charged with posting threats on Instagram after his friend was arrested over gun at school."