A New Jersey man was charged with making terroristic threats after he allegedly posted on Facebook about opening fire at a March For Our Lives rally organized after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Shane Steele, 42 of Lakewood, New Jersey, allegedly posted the threat on Facebook last month, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. He was arrested on March 9, authorities said.
The threat, according to reports, came just days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed. Steele’s post was “venting against the entire idea of rallies,” but was quickly deleted, a prosecutor’s office spokesperson told a local Patch affiliate.
However, someone took a screenshot of the post and alerted authorities. Steele was arrested, and after an “extensive search” of his home no firearms were found, authorities said.
“The lesson here is to take a deep breath before posting something on social media,” Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, told Patch.
The March For Our Lives rally will take place on March 24 in Washington D.C. and is being organized by parents and survivors of the Parkland shooting. The march is planned “to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today,” according to its website.
Authorities did not specify if Steele had threatened the Washington D.C. rally or a similar March For Our Lives event.
Students also walked out of schools today, on the one month anniversary of the shooting.