By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A 17-year-old Lafayette High School student has been charged with making terroristic threats, after posting on social media he intended to commit a mass shooting at an area school.

The threat caused several area schools to go into lock down and post extra security guards Monday.

The Andrew County Prosecutor’s Office formally filed charges against Andrew W. Lemon of Country Club Village this afternoon.

The office accuses Lemon of using racial slurs against black students and threatening on Snapchat that he would commit a mass shooting at either Savannah, Lafayette, Benton High Schools, or Truman Middle School. The threat, deemed credible by police, caused those schools to go into a soft lock down and add security. Central High School, Bode Middle School, and Truman Middle School also went into a soft lock down Monday as a precaution.

Officers with the Country Club Village Police Department took Lemon into custody after St. Joseph police officers detained him in the Lafayette High School Vice Principal’s office.

In the statement of probable cause, Andrew County prosecutors state Lemon reluctantly confessed to sending the message and stated he did not intend to carry out the threat.

No one was injured at any of the schools. The soft lock down at area school was lifted Monday afternoon.