Martin County deputies plan to keep a close eye on two high school students. They’re charged with disrupting school over a text message. And now authorities have a strong message for parents.
On Friday, investigators say two Martin County High School students sent a text to a third student urging the student to contact the Martin County Sheriff’s Office for the "purpose of being questioned about a crime tip." They say the student’s parent then placed the phony text on a social media forum specifically for mothers which caused rumors and panic.
”The best thing to do is call us first and not put it on an internet page. Let us vet it first,” said Christine Christofek, Martin County Sheriffs Office public information officer. “We have the resources to do that and it's very important that we do that before it gets put out."
The sheriff’s office also says it will never directly notify a student via text message for any purpose.
One of the student’s charged told investigators it was a joke and that the text was only sent to one student. Both students were given a civil citation which comes with a mandatory counseling requirement and deputies plan to keep a close eye on the teens.
”Basically they’re on our radar,” said Christofek. “In this day and age things like this are not funny.”