Online post about Columbine leads to arrest of Arkansas teen

MOUNTAIN HOME -- Baxter County deputies arrested a 19-year-old man Friday after authorities said he made "alarming" comments on social media about the Norfork School District.

Evan Thompson was arrested at his home in Norfork on Friday afternoon and charged with felony terroristic threatening, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said. He was held in the Baxter County jail in Mountain Home in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

Authorities said Thompson posted comments on Facebook about the school, saying the district "needed a Columbine," referring to the April 20, 1999, school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., that killed 12 students and a teacher. He also included a photograph of the shooting, Montgomery said.

"Comments such as these create significant public alarm and caused the sheriff's office to take swift action," Montgomery said in a news release. "The safety of children and others in the public school systems in Baxter County is of paramount importance."

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State Desk on 09/24/2017

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