Social media post investigated

A potentially threatening social media post by a juvenile will likely not result in any kind of formal consequences, Cloquet Patrol Commander David O’Connor told the Pine Knot News Wednesday.

The question arose after the police department posted Tuesday that the department was aware of a social media post that morning showing an individual “holding what appeared to be a handgun with a suggestive quote.” The post had been taken down by the individual already, but the police investigated, contacting the parents and learning that the pictured weapon was a BB gun. There were no direct threats to persons or property made in the original post.

“I think a big takeaway of this incident is the importance of parents being aware of what their children may be doing on social media applications,” O’Connor said. “Social media is a powerful tool and what might have been a haphazard classroom comment in the 1980s or ’90s now reaches a much broader audience and can inflict fear and unease in our community. As best we can, we have to know what our kids are doing online.”