Mashpee High School student charged with felony after allegedly sending threatening tweet to rival

By Lauren Dezenski, Globe Correspondent

A 16-year-old Mashpee High School student has been charged with a felony and two misdemeanors, including threatening to commit a crime and disturbing a school assembly, after allegedly sending a threatening message on Twitter, officials said today.

“When someone says in a tweet that they’re going to shoot everyone up, we’re going to get involved,” said Mashpee Police Chief Rodney Collins, who did not release the student’s name.

On Monday, school officials received a printed copy of a Twitter communication between the student and a Rockland teen which contained the threat, Rockland High School Principal Alan H. Cron wrote in a letter posted on the school’s website.

After the message was brought to the Mashpee police’s attention, “detectives conducted a thorough investigation and arrested the juvenile,” said Collins, who did not release the student’s name.

The alleged threat was apparently made before a highly anticipated basketball game between the two schools, which are rivals in the South Shore League. Both had 8-0 records going into Monday night’s game at Rockland High. Rockland beat Mashpee 78 to 51.

There was additional security for the game, according to Cron’s statement.