Central Pennsylvania teens post school shooting threat on Instagram: Police

Two 19-year-old Lancaster County men were charged with making terroristic threats Thursday after police said they posted photos on social media threatening to shoot up a school.

Investigators were alerted to the social media post on Wednesday by a Safe2Say tip. Police reported an Instagram post showing a man loading a rifle with the words “close the schools” while playing a song called “Murder in a Mask.”

A repost of the photo on a second Instagram account also added the caption “time to play.”

State police eventually identified the man in the photo as Garrett Swain, 19, of Coorville. Officers then responded to Swain’s call and seized the rifle seen in the Instagram post.

During a police interview, Swain confirmed he was the person in the Instagram post and said he and his friend Francie Brisma, 19, of Willow Street, went to a shooting range in Lancaster County on Wednesday, where Swain purchased an AR rifle -15. .

After purchasing the firearms, the couple went to Brisma’s home so Swain could learn how to handle the rifle safely, Swain told police.

After leaving Brisma’s house, Swain reposted the photo to his Instagram story with the caption “time to play,” the affidavit said.

Both men were held on $500,000 unsecured bail and preliminary hearings are set for Jan. 17.