Las Vegas student cited for alleged involvement in racial threats

An Arbor View High School student was cited Wednesday for cyberbullying for his alleged involvement in racist threats made against the school that led to the arrests of two teenage boys Tuesday.

The 15-year-old student was cited at school but subsequently was released to his parents, according to Clark County School District police Sgt. Bryan Zink.

Zink said the investigation was ongoing to determine if any other students were involved.

Meanwhile, the students arrested Tuesday, ages 15 and 16, remained in custody at the county’s juvenile detention center. Their names and photos will not be released unless the Clark County district attorney’s office chooses to charge them as adults, Zink said.

They are facing charges of making terrorist threats, conspiring to commit an act of terrorism, cyberbullying, hate crimes and breach of peace, police have said.

The threats, which made references to the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School, were made on an Instagram account that appeared to have been created specifically for that use. They were first reported to police Monday night.

The social media account had been taken down by Wednesday morning.

A caption to a photo of black students posted on Sunday stated, “Looking at my high school I realized I need to cleanse the hallways. There are to (sic) many (racial slur) in this school. We must act now.”

The account hosted a number of similar posts, and it appeared the photos of the students were taken without their knowledge.

As a precaution, there will be an increased police presence on and around the campus, 7500 Whispering Sands Drive, through the rest of the week, Zink said.

The Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were aiding school district police in its investigation, according to CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.