E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSA comment made by a student at a high school in small-town Pennsylvania spawned a rumor online and via text message that a fellow classmate was going to bring a gun to school. Police determined the information was a rumor, but it still had a big impact on the family whose son was falsely accused. WICU's Eva Mastromatteo reports.
“He’d be the type to bring a gun to school.”
These words – or something close – were allegedly uttered by a female student in a high school classroom last Friday in Girard, Pa., about one hour’s drive from Chardon, Ohio. The object of the comment was Austin Carner, a 17-year-old junior and outsider at the school who has had minor brushes with the law.
By Sunday night, those words had morphed via social media and text messages into an explicit threat that Carner was planning to come to Girard High School the next day – the one-week anniversary of the Chardon shooting in which three students died – with a gun.
Police went to his house Sunday afternoon, questioned him and searched his room, and school administrators fielded hundreds of phone calls from concerned parents on Monday. About half of Carner’s classmates decided not to risk it and either stayed home or left school early.
But when police left Carner’s house hours later, they weren’t toting weapons or leading the teen away in cuffs. They found nothing suspicious in their search and, after questioning Carner and his parents, decided that concerns that he was planning violence were false.
“It was a rumor run wild … that’s what social media does these days,” Girard School District Superintendent James Tracy told msnbc.com on Wednesday. “Nothing was actually said. … It’s like that old post office game, you know, where you tell a secret and by the 12th person it’s totally different. Magnify that times literally … thousands of people on social media, it really gets messed up.”
The cloud of suspicion that swept over Carner is the product of two strong currents sweeping through schools around the nation, experts say: heightened sensitivity over school violence and the impulse that leads teenagers and children to gossip or make insinuations about fellow students online without considering the real world consequences.
Carner’s mother, Yvette, said her son and daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, had hateful messages posted to their Facebook walls. They printed copies for authorities but by Monday afternoon the posters had removed their comments. Other parents even posted on social media sites about whether she and her husband had adequate parenting skills, she said.
Hannah Pierce, who penned supportive posts on Sarah’s Facebook wall, wrote early Monday: “Hey girl, I hope you're okay. and your family. I don't know if you've been reading lately, but you're [sic] brother is hated by ALL of Girard. I'm absolutely sick of it.”
Bullied, teased
School officials and police were in contact as soon as they learned of the supposed threat.
“We received a call that there was a gun threat, a kid was going to bring a gun to school on Monday and shoot the place up,” said local Police Chief Nicholas VanDamia. “The boy denied making any of those threats. We searched his room, we searched the house. There was no weapon nor was there anything available for him to use as a weapon. … There was never a real threat, it was all fictitious.”
Austin Carner was unaware of the firestorm erupting on social media over the weekend, since he was away doing community service. He only learned about it when the police showed up at his door.
Carner said he has been bullied since the family moved to Girard from Michigan in 2006, with students calling him “retarded” (he has a learning disability due to apraxia), “ugly” and “ginger” because of his red hair.
Partly because it had gotten so bad, that Monday was meant to be his last day at Girard. He was already in the process of transferring to an alternative education program for students with behavioral issues where his educational needs could be better addressed.
“School has been rough. I get picked on every day, you know, a lot,” he told msnbc.com. “Sometimes, I just don’t want to go.”
But the cruel teasing didn’t prepare him for the shocking posts he saw when he logged onto Facebook, which included many variations of this message: “I’ve heard you’re going to bring a gun to school and shoot everyone.”
Despite Ohio shooting, school violent deaths down
Tracy, the school superintendent, said school officials “always start off taking it (a threat) extremely seriously until you know. It’s always best to err on the side of caution.”
Though the Internet is a good teaching tool that young people respond well to, it created a “real problem” in this instance, Tracy said.
“Unfortunately, when … kids – and also adults – sit in front of the computer, they don’t think the responsibility is there because they’re not talking to somebody,” he added. “They’re putting it down on the screen and pushing a button. I think it becomes a little easier for people to say things they normally wouldn’t say.”
Tracy said the school’s principal disciplined two students – the girl who made the comment and a boy – for their interaction on Friday with Carner, who did not receive any sort of reprimand. The girl made an “off-the-wall comment,” though it’s not clear what role the boy played, Tracy said. (Attempts by msnbc.com to reach the pair were not successful).
“I think that caused them to get onto the social network and say certain things; and then other kids read it and then they added to it, and then pretty soon somebody else added to it,” he said.
Tracy said school officials don’t know how the girl’s initial comment was twisted by others into an explicit threat, but indicated the district would pursue charges – if the source can be determined – to send a clear message.
“Some of the things that were out there were really outlandish,” he said, adding that word normally spreads fast in the borough of about 4,000, but “not this fast. This is even faster than the local news.”
Carner’s father, Tracy Carner, said his son was just trying to survive high school and he was not perfect – he got into a fight with some boys last summer who were harassing him. He said that after the boys beat Austin up, his son chased them with a utility knife, telling them never to touch him again. He later owned up to the incident, which was why he was doing community service, the elder Carner said.
“In the game of real life, he’s become the victim,” said Carner, 51, who works in flooring construction. “And in general, the whole family is in jeopardy.”
Superintendent Tracy said an announcement was made Monday morning to students about the rumor and its consequences. He said the school will add lessons on cyberbullying to other programs it has introduced to stem bullying, including the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Rachel’s Challenge.
'He's just not the same'
Schools around the nation are dealing with similar issues involving social media, said Dr. Melissa Reeves, a school psychologist and chair of the National Association of School Psychologists’ Prepare School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Workgroup.
“What this school district is dealing with is what many school districts are trying to deal with and … often times the schools are the last ones to find out,” she said.
Reeves said her group was working with schools to train parents, students and staff about social media and cyberbullying as well as early warning signs of potential threats or suicidal behavior.
She recommended that districts have clear social media policies in place, including punishment for violators, and that schools and parents have access to social networking sites and maintain good collaboration with law enforcement so that tips can be quickly investigated and dispelled if they have no merit.
Many districts are trying to be proactive about school violence by creating anonymous phone lines, websites and text message drops where people can share tips about possible threats.
“School districts are definitely trying to problem-solve,” she said. “… The challenge is that the technology is ever-evolving and to be honest with you, we have a generation of adults that didn’t grow up with this and then we have kids that are growing up (with it), and the kids are more sophisticated than many of the adults.”
Facebook also has built ways to help minors have a safe experience online, including a “Social Reporting” tool that allows youths to contact the site or trusted adults about harassment or threatening content. The site works with law enforcement in some cases, too.
None of that is much comfort to Tracy Carner. He said he has contacted police about filing charges. He also is temporarily out of work because he felt that he had to stay home to help support his family in the aftermath of the incident.
But his wife Yvette said life was still difficult for the Carner family.
“We can’t go out in public without getting whispers and harassed,” she said Wednesday. “Austin went out today for a walk with his friends and this town has judged him even though it has been proven that he had nothing to do with it. People are calling him names, yelling things at him.
“… It’s really tough on Austin right now. He is very quiet,” she added. “He’s just not the same.”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Leave a Comment:
lol....sounds like the whole town is trying to taunt a child into shooting them all.....
kinda funny they are tormenting an innocent child by bullying him, yet they were accusing him of being a horrible bully YET, the town has a whole long article written about their nasty ways..........
p.s. did everyone notice the word CHILD
these people should be ashamed of themselves,especially the girl who made the comment that started the rumor,im tellin you people get your kids off of facebook,dont allow them n that site for any reason whatso ever,my son took off with a grown woman..hes 16 but looks 12,that site has causedmore trouble than it will ever be worth..now look at this..no its not facebooks fault,it is the parents fault for not monitoring what thier kids are doing on the computer,im guilty of that myself and im paying the price,my son has been gone for 2 months...attackin the bill of rights is just stupidity,illgive up my gun when you can pry it from my dead fingers..tis is a bunch of kids that need discipline,and after what took place the stupid parents didnt discipline thier kids they blamed this poor already tormented enough kid,what is this county coming to,whn grown people are shouting insults at a kid you know its f@#ked up...facebook should be for adults only,have you read what is posted there,even by the kids..wake up america these are kids not little adults..mnitor what they are doin,cause tommorrow it could be one of your kids putting up with this stupidity
I have always found it tragic that the rhetoric in these cases speak to protecting the "future" victims. I was in high school (not 45 miles away) when the Thurston High School shooting happened in Oregon. My first response to the outcryers of the victims was : I am saddened for your loss, but did your child torture this boy to his breaking point? Murder is never justified, (EVER), but have we ever asked why did the killer targete those individuals? We should not be so quick to deem children heroes, or monsters, before we know what has occurred.
This is what we have to look forward to. As if society has not fallen enough in the past years, police are having to chomp at the bit over rumors that have been born via social media. This article is not only appalling but it disgusts me. This is social media being used for the opposite of its intent. A student was embarrassed, victimized and exposed to the world over what? A troubled past? A hallway rumor? A chance for popular kids to once again take aim at someone? This is absolutely ridiculous.
I cannot vouch for Carner's character being that this is the first time that I have seen or read anything about him but I can express the horror at him being attacked in this way. People, teenagers in particular, need to understand that consequences that their words have. After everything that has happened, you cannot go around telling people that another student is going to bring a gun to school. Nor should you. If there is a genuine fear for safety, bring it up to school officials or the local police. Do not slander and spread lies about someone through Facebook. Be ashamed of yourselves for lacking the simple humanity it takes to coexist. Be ashamed of yourselves for not knowing the difference between right and wrong. Just be ashamed.
Well...the media contributes substantially to online bullying - even corporations and businesses - two overlooked entities that often cash in on advertisement bullying methods - stealing the ideas or content of a social group by adopting their vernacular, frequently spoken phrases or even their music - so this entire social thing develops into the cause of human nature to learn to treat each other decently and not be shocked when one defends him or herself.
Police officers are notorious for "stirring the pot" in a community out of boredom because most have nothing to do. So, to justify that paycheck, they've got to make an arrest, even if nothing really happened - time to admit this. We all know that police officers usually at least contribute to wrong thinking about people because let's face it, most are pretty paranoid that someone did something that probably they did not do, but in order to save face - it is guaranteed by bribe or another way that the person WILL be guilty before the judge. Our judicial and criminal justice system is a bullying giant.
Why even Hollywood actors love to join in on a "cause" to obliterate an idea in society that harms their profitability - so bullying happens from all sectors and we should never limit our thinking only to young people at high school or college campuses.
Sometimes the one perceived as the "victim" by a group changes into the one causing the persecution when that campaign - and at a more serious level, it becomes a campaign - turns on the perpetrator which is equally culpable if violence is the result.
And I've met some that no matter how socially appropriate you are with them - there is never going to be anything but mens rea come out of that person.
Human nature.
The desired outcome is to treat each other with respect.
Sounds like the town is full of @!$%#s who are afraid of getting shot because they know they have it coming because they treat people who haven't done anything to them like @!$%#. Maybe if you don't treat people like @!$%# then they won't want to shoot up the school in the first place. Ever think of that you idiot Americans?
Kids at any age are unusually cruel and need to grow up and learn that there are consequences to what they say and do when it negatively affects someone else. Society as a whole perpetuates this and the kids learn from the adults by TV and social media. That said, this family has literally been through hell and its not acceptable, so the kid has a learning disorder, that does not make him bad and shouldn't make him a target. While my organization DSA (Disabled Students Association @ SFSU) does not condone violence we also understand why the kid is upset and rightfully so, however, there are legal recourses that need to be taken by the family to protect their son and daughter and that school of kids needs a serious sit down with law enforcement so that they know just how nasty this is. Just because he has a disability now, doesnt mean that he wont turn out to do some amazing things in his life and make positive changes. The saddest part of this is that many times bullying and harrasement goes unnoticed and allowed by some school districts because its considered "growing up" and thats just not acceptable, too many times stuff like this goes unnoticed. Now, this family should have help coming to them from all over in terms of support.
This sort of thing is only going to get worse and worse as communication technology continues to advance and attention spans continue to shorten. Humanity desperately needs to unlearn its millenia-old social instincts before we all end up stabbing each other; it is simply no longer reasonable to react to gossip, engage in supposition, and participate in rumormongering as either sender or receiver, because the sheer quantity of language in use has increased by too many factors of 100 for the functions of words to remain unchanged. In the days when people actually talked to each other or wrote physical letters, you could only be subject to so much verbal chaff; today, our brains are overstimulated to such an extent, and the price in effort required to spread misinformation has gone down so much, that we simply cannot continue to weigh the import of everything we read in the way that we once did.
As a victim of bullying, even into my 20's, there is something seriously deranged about the widespread NARCISSISM and lack of EMPATHY nowadays. Not only will people harass you, they will manipulate the situation to make themselves look like the victims/martyrs, then on top of the judgment calls they make about what you're wearing or how you behave(or dont behave) they'll make you out to look like the crazy person too. I can understand why people are driven to anger. These people who shoot up schools have FEELINGS, probably more feelings than the people who bully them. Does that make school shootings morally acceptable? Absolutely not.
But I also can't say that negative people who treat people like @!$%# (and there are people in this world so egotistical and selfish that almost every action they take is to protect their ego, with no concern for others) are necessary for a harmonious and loving world. The only retribution is karma, because even the legal system is @!$%#ed.
Sad sad, first of all, that principle has to say what he has to say, come on Facebook is just another tool for meeting people, very few use in good act. But 98% use to cheat and lie on it. Be real, since facebook was created by college spoil brats for sex chat it has ruin all of USA, not to mention Wade vs. Roe act. I know that's another story and the loss of parents rights to dicipline there children right, "time out my ass"!!!! Parent should have the right to bust their kids asses within reason and show them who is boss. That is why all these killings are happening in School.. @!$%# you White America, you ask for it, you got it. I feel bad for this boy and his family, sounds like a normal kid to me. Its the other so called normals that are @!$%#ed up and their parents that haven't grown up and all others in that town harrassing them. Again, Good morning America!!! You brought it amongs yourself. Morality and Respect is lost in USA... Internet too for the good, Biggest mistake ever made!!!
Don't let these bullies get you down you look like a decent teenager even in my earlier years of schooling there were really mean kids lot's of them sometimes i had to literally do everything i could to save myself and my brother and sister from further harm.School officials have sadly lost our youths to govt idealism in my day the detention authority had a black paddle spanked our rears if we got out of line the youth of today something seriously wrong with them kids need guidance tough love you could have the best home but without these two ingredients forget it.My grandpa landed himself in jail for 72 hours because some little kid made a false rumor.The kids responsible for this wrong doing should be expelled immediately.Stay on the good side of the fence lad you have much potential.I will keep you and your family in prayer.
Taunting, teasing, bullying and and creating false rumors is enough to dive anyone crazy. If only these cruel, ignorant and thoughtless a-holes called kids failed to realize the deadly consequences their actions might bring upon themselves.
Fortunately, this boy didn't let loose ont those who tormented him endlessly.
Some people never learn until it's much too late after making that fatal mistake.
‘Salem Witch Trials’ Online
& Bullying Contribute to School Shootings
This story strengthens my assertion the other day that these
school shootings by such young Americans are probably a result of a social
lynching of some sort, either in the child’s immediate circle or on the
Internet or even in the entire community – of a family targeted for bullying or
harassment. Maltreatment can go
undetected and in many forms. Sometimes
it is a common phrase that participants repeat toward the person, even
intentionally wearing a particular type of clothing with a message on it and
deliberately standing near or adjacent to the line of vision of the person at
certain times. Mocking the behavior of
the person. Learning what the person
likes and while knowing they cannot afford it – put it in their line of vision
constantly as a group so as to taunt or harry.
Yet these tasks require thought, effort, and time so that they are
premeditated against the one targeted.
However, when that person finally lashes out, none of the persons that
suddenly become the victims of the one ‘lynched’ are investigated as having
contributed to the crime by their previous actions, maybe as recent as the day
before, or even hours or minutes prior. And
I’m sorry to say, oftentimes the culprits are solicited or incited by bored law
enforcement officers that need something to justify their jobs – shocking truth,
but in small, quiet locations, very probable.
The “Hatfields and McCoys” situation may occur, a lynching online or at
school, but where the entire town has sided with one or the other. Then when the maltreated individual finally defends
him or herself or acts out in extreme frustration, everyone scatters and turns
viciously against that persecuted person as being and “isolated incident” is
the pet media label judged against it so as to downplay the historical fact
pattern leading up to the tragedy. The
actual victim of a social lynching is then labeled as “gunman” broadcast and
published on international news – one of the most derisive and irreparable “brandings”
to attach to a young person in modern culture.
And I thought we’ve matured out of that as a society.
Apparently not.
How backwards and oppressive.
Education doesn’t seem to be a factor, since the conduct
proceeds in all social situations, and under varying levels of income.
A young man, bullied for the past 4-5 years, out doing community service for the weekend, BEING BULLIED SOMEMORE BY THE ENTIRE TOWN. DOES IT GET MUCH SADDER THAN THIS!
Bullying Even Might be Solicited by Hollywood, CA!
And sometimes, bullying can even take the form of a play by Hollywood actors that feel a need to squash a social belief flat, but do not know when to quit and force the sensitive matter into our faces as if we are not competent to understand that all should be treated with respect - but take it to the level of a well-funded campaign, which then turns into a big-assed bullying effort from Hollywood, CA, over our government - on the web - blog discussions turn into million dollar broadcasting and movies, even - and then suddenly "discipline" over our word choices occur although we live in a free society - and that bullying campaign is used to intimidate American citizens to say or not say particular words, forced social "scolding"- though we enjoy free speech - as another example.
Listen, I've witnessed some actors get down right ugly and retaliate in criminal conduct, using their excess wealth to fund entire solicited bullying campaigns against private United States civilians that might oppose their political agenda or work for a politicians in Washington, DC - phew.
Interesting that this type of social "drama" often occurs when some have been fingered as potential suspects for other crimes, as they seek "sanctuary" in the spotlight to avoid reasonable suspicion.
There are just so may ways to see it once we open the door to awareness of bullying in many forms.
Enter the new bullying in school. Using sly remarks and causing both other kids parents and Law Enforcement to do the bullying for you. I'm sure this went far beyond anything some smart aleck kid intended in skirting so closely to falsely accusing someone of planning MURDER... none the less, some of those parents were right, someone's parents must have some awfully questionable parenting skills... in fact, it appears that a whole lot of parents up there have some major deficiencies in this regard. One thing is for certain, the original comment was intended to be malicious.
If this was my son i would get me a damn good lawyer and start sewing starting with the parents of the kids who started this rumor and the other parents who chimed in for slander all the way down to the police and then i would make sure the students who started this were prosecuted to the FULLEST extent of the law.
These parents could use the same social media to get this message out the kids did to start this travesty!
It appears that we as a society now take things very seriously we want to be respected even if some of us are different other than the staus quo be nice to people becuase you never know if your in the company of a individual who has had enough of bullying even in the work place somebody has a ego large enough to make you feel small especially employers treating their employees like dirt and then the employers wonder why they retaliate
When my teens go to school in the mornings, they know that if I were to EVER get a call that they had something to do with bullying, they'll have to answer to ME when they get home........They also know that if I ever hear of them standing around while someone else is being bullied and not doing anything, they will have ME to answer to. Parents, don't let your kids go to school thinking that this type of behavior is acceptable. We need to put an end to the bullying in the schools. Please don't depend on the schools to raise your kids
The Police need to have an all school assembly and lay it on the line for these students. In the first case the students neglected to report a credible threat, and a shooting was the result. Immediately after this the kids again lost their minds and allowed a lack of credible info to grow and fester into something ugly. In both cases teen peer groups were to blame. Call the kids into the auditorium, spell things out to them and put forward a standard operating procedure. If the parents can't instill sense in the kids, then maybe the authorities should. God knows what the school staff does.
jimbo
are you reading the same story as the rest of us? No gun, no threat, no shooting in this one. And lets leave god out of this for now as to what the staff knows and FIND out who knows what.
Can't really expect much from people in Ohio half way between Buffalo, NY and Cleveland, OH. Just a lot of losers.
I go to school in Girard and bullying is a HUGE problem here.. I'm so fed up with hearing people picking on other people.. People act like its not a problem in Girard but it is, a close friend of mine switched to cyber schooling because he was thrown down the stairs for being gay.
Joshua
Perhaps you should talk to some of the girls on here who claim Girard is such a GREAT school and we should not be "judging" due to this single incident.