Ursry
A Niblack Elementary School student was arrested Friday night for threatening a mass shooting at the school.
Erik Robert Ursry, a 12-year-old Lake City boy who attends Niblack, was charged with two counts of making electronic threats about a mass shooting after being arrested Friday night.
According to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office release, Ursry was arrested after a Mississippi child reported him for claiming in a group chat on Sept. 8 that he was going to “shoot up his school.” The release said once the child reported the incident on Sept. 9, the Hernando (Miss.) Police Department worked closely with local deputies, sharing leads and digital evidence that helped identify Ursry.
“This case is a powerful reminder of how important it is to stay engaged in your child's digital life,” the CCSO said in a message to parents and guardians in the release. “Threats like these often surface first in text messages, social media posts, or shared images long before they reach law enforcement. We encourage parents and guardians to regularly check in on what their children are posting, sending, and receiving online, to keep an open dialogue about what they encounter on social media, and to report any concerning behavior immediately. Early awareness and communication can make all the difference in preventing tragedy.”
According to the CCSO, the investigation, including coordinating with school resource deputies and a follow-up with a family whose child was mentioned in the threats, led to matching the phone number associated with the threats to Ursry.
School resource deputies met with Ursry and his mother on Friday, searching his cell phone with her permission. He then admitted to sending the messages about a planned mass shooting at Niblack, including threats specific to both Sept. 9 and Sept. 11. The release adds that Ursry also confirmed sending photographs of “his walk to school” and of firearms, which he stated belonged to an out-of-state family member, to reinforce the threats.
Ursry was arrested, transported and booked into the Columbia County Detention facility until his pickup by the Department of Juvenile Justice. The investigation found these were verbal threats and that Ursry did not have access to firearms nor did he have intent of following through with an actual school shooting.
In addition to the Hernando PD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation helped the CCSO during the investigation, according to the release.