New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman may have helped thwart a school shooting when one of his Instagram followers brought to his attention a troubling comment on one of his posts.
Edelman told the New York Times that a follower of his messaged him in March saying, “Dude, there is a kid in your comment section says [he’s] going to shoot up a school, i think you should alert the authority.”
Edelman told his assistant to look for the comment and alert police. The comment read, “I’m going to shoot my school up watch the news.”
Detectives traced the comment to a house in Port Huron, Michigan, where a 14-year-old boy admitted to posting the threat.
Two rifles belonging to the boy’s mother were found in the house. The boy is now being held in juvenile detention.
Edelman deferred credit to the Instagram user who first told him about the comment.
“Thankfully, this kid said something,” Edelman said. “We’re going to send him something, a care package, just for his work. He’s the real hero.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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