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Gateway High School student arrested for social media threat against teacher

A student at Gateway High School has been arrested after sending a message on Instagram that threatened to kill a local teacher, according to a report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
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GATEWAY, Fla — "Mrs. Gantwarg will be getting shot on the first day, and none of you will snitch, or the whole school goes down with me [sic]."

That's a message the Lee County Sheriff's Office says a 15-year-old student sent in a group chat on Instagram.

The student, deputies say, attends Gateway High School.

The background of the message was entitled "Kill Me Now" seven times.

Investigators say someone in the group shared the message with their mother who then notified someone previously associated with the school.

Though the image had been removed, a request was sent to Meta Platforms, Inc. - the company that owns Instagram and Facebook.

A search warrant followed and an investigation linked the IP address to a Lehigh Acres address.

The student was transported to a Lee County substation.

He was charged with Written Threat of Violence; to wit after transmitting a message threatening to kill or do bodily harm to a teacher.

A safety plan will be in place once the student returns to school, the report states.