WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are investigating after a Florida International University student posted a gun threat on a group study chat via WhatsApp.
The threat was allegedly made by a student inside of the chat, Wednesday.
According to an anonymous student, the group chat was created for study purposes for an elective class called “Happiness at Work,” where over 200 students are enrolled.
“So a person had joined the group chat, and they had started to insult one of the people in the group chat calling them profound names, insulting them, and then a girl responded, ‘Oh, calm down because you say that through the internet, but in person you won’t actually do it,'” the student said.
The student then shared a picture of a firearm with the caption, “I can walk into the class with this energy if u keep pissing me off u coward lil kid.”.
“It’s insane in the sense that, first of all, it’s an easy elective,” the student said. “There’s really no need to cause any havoc. Like, relax. We’re just here to help each other out.”
Students immediately contacted FIU Police, who started to look into the threat.
FIU Police Capt. Delrish Moss said police have put a plan in place as a precaution.
“The FIU Police Department, we are making sure that we’re doing everything that we can to ensure the safety of our community,” Moss said.
At this point, Moss said they do not believe there is any danger, but they take the post seriously, which is why they are working with federal investigators.
“It seems to be banter between two people,” Moss said. “We’re not sure how serious that is and what the impetus was behind the situation. We’re looking into all of those things, and once we find out, we’ll make those determinations.”
Detectives are interviewing students who were in the group chat.
“I was happy to help with any information that they could use,” the student said.
Police said the incident is a reminder for students to report suspicious activity and contact them.
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