Updated: Former Mussleman High Student Arrested for Making Terroristic Threats

Editor’s Note: We have redacted the photo and username of the person in question due to the potential of they being a minor. The tweets included in this post are graphic in nature and have not be edited.

Updated: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 9:40 a.m.

A former student faces charges of using a hacked Twitter account to threaten a Berkeley County school.

Police arrested 21-year-old Justin Matthew Light of Kearneysville around 1:30 a.m. Monday. Light is charged with making threats of terrorist acts.

Berkeley County Sheriff Kenneth Lemaster Jr. announced the arrest Monday afternoon during a joint news conference with school officials.

Schools Superintendent Manny Arvon says an individual in Massachusetts alerted authorities after seeing the online threats against Musselman High School. The threats were posted on Twitter on Sunday.

The Twitter account belongs to another former student who now attends Fairmont State University.

Light is being held at the Eastern Regional Jail.

Updated: Monday, October 13, 2014 at 1:05 p.m.

Berkeley County Schools says a former student at Musselman High School was arrested Monday for making terroristic threats against the school principal, students and staff. The school system says those responsible will face criminal prosecution. 

Updated: Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 11:29 p.m.

Berkley County Sheriff Kenny Lemaster says an investigation is ongoing and a person of interest has been developed after threats were made Sunday to open fire at Musselman High School on Monday morning.

Lemaster says the threats were made after a Twitter account had been hacked. He says the person whose identity was compromised is not a suspect.

Lemaster says law enforcement officials are working towards making an arrest as evidence continues to be collected.

Classes at Musselman High School are planned for Monday.

Lemaster said additional officers will be on call, and law enforcement officials will have an increased presence at Musselman High School and throughout the county to try to ease student and parents concerns.

“We are urging people not to give into their fears on this. We are working hard with so students and staff can safely go to school,” Lemaster said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, West Virginia State Police, Martinsburg Police and Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the investigation.

Original Post: Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 7:07 p.m.

 
Officials with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s department and West Virginia State Police have confirmed an investigation into threats of a shooting at Musselman High School.  

A dispatcher at the Berkeley County Sheriff’s department said an investigator from that agency and a school resource officer from Musselman High were working together on the investigation. 

Law enforcement officials said Sunday evening they were made aware of threatening tweets from what appeared to be a student claiming he would open fire on the school Monday morning. 

They have provided no details about whether the student in question has been detained or arrested. When asked about confirming the legitimacy of the account–as to whether or not the account was truly that of the student in question or had been hacked–officials also declined comment.