PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Thursday afternoon saw the arrest of 18 year old PikeView student Amiliyon Barnes after social media posts with threatening implications which featured photos of other students were made from his Snapchat account.
The photos in question were posted using the social media app’s “story” feature, which allows multiple photos to be displayed in succession with the option to independently edit and alter the content, as well as dictate the length of time for which the content is shown.
Photos of fellow students were posted to Barnes’ Snapchat story, and had been edited to feature red crosshairs across the students’ heads, along with the word “dead.”
These images were quickly shared among the students, as well as across other social media platforms, resulting in a lockdown of PikeView High which was lifted at 11:23am.
PikeView Principal Anna Lilly discussed the incident with Barnes, with the latter commenting that the posted content was simply part of a “Tiktok trend,” “just a game,” and was not meant to be taken seriously.
Barnes’ phone was seized by Trooper First Class K.A. Filer with the West Virginia State Police, and a preservation order was submitted for the Snapchat account on which the content had been posted.
An arrest was then made on felony charges of terrorist threats, and Barnes was transported to Mercer County Magistrate court for arraignment before Magistrate Mike Crowder.
These charges could warrant a fine of $5,000 to $25,000, as well as 1 to three years in prison. A $20,000 bond was with the condition of home confinement should the bond be posted.
More information on Mercer County Courts can be found here.
