Authorities in Newport News, Virginia said that they tightened security at Richneck Elementary school this week upon learning of a student's plans to perpetrate a shooting Saturday.
The fifth-grader sent texts to a group chat revealing that they would “pop some bullets” at the school and “tell someone to shoot up the class”, police said.
One of the chat group members showed their parents the messages before they were reported to school officials and teachers.
Richneck School administrator Karen Lynch told parents in a letter that the suspected student was immediately “excluded from school.”
“A thorough investigation is underway with the police department. A threat assessment is also in progress. Threats and safety concerns are always taken very seriously.”
Last month, a teacher at Richneck Elementary school was shot by a 6-year-old student just as she finished reading a story to her class.
