Police visit Clovis student after ‘disturbing’ post of toy gun and message, officials say

A Clovis Unified student, under 14, sparked a police investigation over the weekend after he posted a picture on Snapchat of a toy replica gun along with “vaguely threatening language.”

The social media post prompted the Clovis North Educational Center Administration to send an explanatory email over the weekend to parents that described the incident in general terms as “one disturbing social media post by a single student,” stressing that there was no active threat to the school or students.

On Monday afternoon, the police department’s public information officer, Ty Woods, confirmed to The Fresno Bee that they received an anonymous tip about a male student’s Snapchat post with an apparent gun visible.

Officers responded and went to the student’s home. By the time they got there, Woods said the boy’s mom was aware of the post and had thrown the toy away. Woods said the responding officer was able to inspect the toy gun — not a BB or water gun but a solid, plastic replica — and confirmed it was harmless because the trigger or other components did not move.

Neither the police nor the district would reveal the substance of the message in the social media post, but the district said it displayed “vaguely threatening language,” according to the school district email sent to parents. However, it did not contain a “direct threat” to the campus or individuals at Clovis North, the email stated.

Clovis Unified did not specify what type of discipline the school might take. The school board’s student discipline policy includes the offense of violating any governmental statute, ordinance, and/or regulation in its definition of defiant and disruptive behavior that can begin a disciplinary process. It remains unclear if the boy is being suspended, expelled or will be subject to any other discipline.

For a threat to be considered a crime, Woods said two factors need to be present: The person has to be able to go through with it, and the person threatened has to consider it as a potential, serious danger. Because those factors weren’t met, Woods said the responding officer didn’t take legal action, and any discipline will be handled at home and by the school.

Because the boy is a Clovis resident, Woods said he and his family have access to the police department’s youth diversion program, where he can receive free counseling and the parents can assign him to participate in community service.

This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 7:05 PM.

Laura S. Diaz

The Fresno Bee

Laura S. Diaz is the engagement reporter for The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab. She previously was The Bee’s COLAB Latino communities reporter. Before working in Fresno, Laura covered social justice, local government and accountability issues for The Stockton Record, and began her career working for CBS News and the Associated Press Elections Center in New York City. She grew up in Mexico and graduated from New York University with a B.S. in media communications and journalism.