GREENWOOD — An 18-year-old was arrested after allegedly sending threatening messages to Center Grove High School's official Instagram account, prompting safety concerns among parents and students.
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Adrian Abundio-Valente sent a series of direct messages to the school's social media account Thursday night, according to a probable cause affidavit. One message read:
"IM WALKING IN TOMORROW WITH A ARP AND IM KILLING EVERYONE THAT'S IN MY SIGHT."
Court Documents said investigators worked quickly with Meta to obtain account information and locate the suspect. Center Grove Community School Corporation confirmed the 18-year-old was not associated with the school.
"When it comes to school safety, it's something that's very important to every parent… the safety of our children. It was terrifying," Nicole Kemp said.
Kemp, who has a son at Center Grove High School, said the threat affected her child deeply.
"He has a lot of anxiety, and he hates missing school. When he came to me last night and said, 'I don't wanna go.' He was tense, and then I said, 'You don't have to, buddy," Kemp said.
Major Andy Fisher with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office called the incident "ridiculous."
"Ridiculous, to put a school under the condition that it was today for the threat that was made against it and have everyone basically feel that their lives could be in danger from a threat," Fisher said.
Investigators said the teen confessed and told detectives he sent the messages because he was angry over a planned student demonstration connected to immigration enforcement.
"When you make a threat toward a school, we're going to look into it to the highest level and make sure you're brought to justice," Fisher said.
Lieutenant Pamela Revels, president of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said cases like this are becoming more common nationwide.
"It's a negative effect. It can be a disruption. It can cause anxiety, fear and panic within that school campus," Revels said.
For parents like Kemp, she hopes the community can move forward from this incident.
"We have to stop hating one another for it and hear each other and meet each other where we're at," Kemp said.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office emphasized that they take every threat seriously and will investigate all incidents to the fullest extent.
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Adam Schumes is the In Your Community reporter for East Side Indy. He joined WRTV in December of 2021. Adam has a passion for telling stories and giving people a voice they might not have had before. Share your story ideas and important issues with Adam by emailing him at adam.schumes@wrtv.com.
