On Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 at 6 a.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Florence Unified School District regarding a “hit list” which was discovered on the internet and reported to them by a parent of one of the students on the list.

The list was created by two female students; an 8th grade student at Walker Butte K-8 and a 10th grade student at Poston Butte High School, and placed on the social media site Instagram. Also on the media site was an icon of a pistol next to the word “hit list.”

Both girls were contacted and interviewed by deputies. The girls, both cheerleaders, told deputies they had created the list to name people they disliked. The girls maintained they had no intentions to do harm to any of the students or the teacher on the list.

The investigation is still underway as deputies continue to talk with people involved in the case. School administrators also continue to assist us with the investigation.

Upon completion of the investigation, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office will likely submit the case to the County Attorney’s Office for charges of Threatening and Intimidating.

Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “With recent school shootings across the Country all possible threats of violence at schools are taken seriously by law enforcement. Parents are encouraged to talk with their children and explain the seriousness of making such threats whether they are meant as a joke or not.”