School threats hoax leads to arrest of juvenile female in OKC

Police have arrested an Oklahoma City juvenile for faking a social media account to threaten Northeast High School, John Marshall Mid-High School and other schools in the metro.

Ariyon Moore, 17, of Oklahoma City is facing felony charges of “terrorism hoax” and “false personation” for setting up a social media account to make the threats.

The fake social media account was set up to look identical to a particular male’s account.

But when police interviewed him, he was cooperative according to Sgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

A series of circumstances showed that he was not the likely suspect and someone else was faking an account as him.

According to Knight, OKCPD Criminal Intelligence Unit then shifted their focus from the male to Moore late Friday leading to her arrest.

Moore has not been formally charged, but is being held in Berry House, Oklahoma City’s juvenile detention center.

Juveniles who are arrested on felony complaints are held in Berry House instead of the Juvenile Unit at the Oklahoma County jail.

And because the complaint is for a felony, her name could be released.

Formal charges could be brought in an arraignment hearing at the center as late as Monday.

School response

John Marshall Mid-High School and Northeast High School (formerly Northeast Academy) are in Oklahoma City Public Schools, which issued a statement Thursday night containing misleading information:

Media Statement:

This evening, Oklahoma City Public Schools was made aware of a social media threat against Northeast Academy and John Marshall Mid-High. District teams immediately notified Oklahoma City Police, and the suspect has been identified and criminal charges are pending. As a precautionary measure, OKCPS and OCPD will have additional security at both schools tomorrow and Monday. Classes will be in session as scheduled. We are grateful to those who quickly shared the information with district leaders and to OCPD for their swift response. As always, OKCPS takes all threats seriously, as the safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority.

Friday morning the OKCPD Public Information Office would not confirm with Free Press that they were close to making an arrest or that criminal charges were “pending.”

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