Teenager Arrested in Threat Against Md. Students

A former student at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda has been arrested in Tennessee on charges of posting anonymous death threats against students and staff at the school on an Internet gossip site, authorities said today.

The 17-year-old was charged with commission of acts of terrorism, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. His name was not released.

The anonymous writer, using the screen name "whitmanarson," claimed a plan to attack the school May 21 and "take a couple people i hate out wit me." Atop the posting was a poll, titled "Who Would You Like to See Die." It had drawn votes against various students, employees and school security officers.

Authorities learned of the threats late Monday, and police were assigned to "support the staff and students named in the threat" until it could be traced, according to a news release.

Montgomery County detectives tracked the e-mail address to the teenager's computer in southeast Shelby County, officials said.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office was contacted yesterday. Deputies went to a home in Hickory Hill and arrested the 17 year-old young man, Shelby officials said. He was taken to Memphis Juvenile Court, where he remains in custody.