Gig Harbor High School student arrested after alleged 'gun threat' on social media

GIG HARBOR, Wash. -- A Gig Harbor High School student was arrested Thursday night after other students notified authorities of a what they perceived as a gun threat against the school on social media, police and the school district said.

"Multiple students from the Peninsula School District reported a perceived threat of violence apparently directed at Gig Harbor High School this evening," the police department said. "Gig Harbor Police officers intervened and arrested the subject making the threat. He is now in custody and we are confident that any potential threat has been neutralized."

The school district sent an email Thursday night to students and parents. It read, in part:

"Earlier this evening several GHHS students notified us of a threat they observed on social media which consisted of a photo message that was understood to be a gun threat against Gig Harbor High School ... the student who sent the threat was soon placed in custody. The student will be excluded from campus and will not be considered for re-entry until this is thoroughly investigated and resolved.

"We want to thank both the reporting students and the Gig Harbor Police Department for their outstanding actions and efforts. You truly are heroes.

"We take school safety very seriously and as a precaution, additional security will be in place tomorrow at GHHS. We anticipate a normal school day..."