Crime & Safety

Threat to 'Shoot Up' School a Hoax by West Deptford Men: Police

Police do not believe Brandon Worley and Ramon Leon, who are former students at the school, intended to carry out the threat.

Two former Highland Regional High School students who live in West Deptford have been charged with posting to Facebook a threat to "shoot up" the Blackwood school in what police have labeled a hoax.

Gloucester Township Police were alerted to the threat against the high school at about 7 p.m. Monday. The threat was posted to the Facebook account of former Highland High School student Brandon Worley, police said.

Police quickly took Worley, 21, and his roommate, Ramon Leon, 24, into custody at their home on the 600 block of Tatum Street, in West Deptford Township, Gloucester County, Monday night.

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No weapons or explosives were found inside the home, according to police, and it is not believed either man had immediate access to firearms.

Investigators determined the two men were attempting to see what they could get away with posting to Facebook, according to Gloucester Township Police Deputy Chief David Harkins.

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Still, Worley and Leon have been charged with third-degree false public alarms and third-degree terroristic threats. Both were lodged in Camden County Jail on $35,000 bail.

Before posting the "shoot up Highland" threat, the suspects posted "vulgar and inappropriate" sexually explicit photos and statements on Facebook, Harkins said.

Investigators do not believe the "shoot up" threat was legitimate, and noted that both men indicated they were only joking, according to Harkins. Police do not believe there is a credible threat to Highland or any other school in the area as a result of this investigation.

Highland officials were notified of the threat very early in the investigation, according to police, and precautionary security measures were taken at the high school on Tuesday.

Facebook's legal department has shut down the page involved in the investigation, according to police.

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