Student held without bail after allegedly threatening to 'shoot up' school

FRANKLIN, Mass. — A student at Tri-County Regional High School in Franklin, Massachusetts who was accused of threatening to "shoot up the school"  was ordered held without bail Wednesday.

Police said 18-year-old Julius Willis posted threats on social media and also sent them to other students.

According to police documents, after seeing the threatening messages, a student called 911 Tuesday to say he was concerned because another student, Willis, had threatened "to shoot up the school." The student allegedly said that Willis told him he had a gun.

When officers arrived to the school, an administrator told them, "a couple students had reported seeing pictures of a gun on social media," said court documents.

One witness allegedly told police that one social media posting said, "I hope you can run faster than my bullets."

At that point, officers tried to detain Willis, who allegedly refused to comply, cursed at officers and kept jamming his hands in his back pockets. It was unclear at the time to officers if he had a weapon; they later confirmed he did not.

Further investigation and interviews revealed that the 911 caller had received two Snapchats from Willis, according to documents. One of the Snapchats said  "I hope you can run faster than my bullets". The other was a "rap song about the Columbine High School shooting," likely the song "Pumped up Kicks" by Foster the People.

The 911 caller told officers that Willis had threatened to shoot up the school last Thursday and that Willis was "getting worse" and he was scared. Other students corroborated this story, said police.

Another witness told police that Willis had bought a gun in Fall River and that the serial numbers were ground off, said the police report.

Willis's stepfather, William Brown, allegedly told police that the gun was his and it was locked in safe. He did not know how Willis had gotten ahold of it, said police. The gun was taken into evidence.

In court Thursday, Willis was arraigned on charges of disturbing a school, threat of serious disruption of school, threats to commit a crime, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. He pleaded not guilty to all five charges. He has a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Dec. 22.

>>RELATED: Tri-Country student charged with making threats on social media.

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