Texarkana man arrested for alleged school shooting threat

Ricky Jared Rankin
Ricky Jared Rankin

A 24-year-old Texarkana, Texas, man was arrested today after allegedly posting a photo of a rifle on social media with the comment "I'm thinking about finally going back to school."

Ricky Jared Rankin was arrested by police officers and FBI agents early this afternoon outside his home on Park Lane on a terroristic threat charge.

Police said Rankin made the post Monday night on his Instagram account, and people who know him reported it to Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.

Detectives began investigating immediately and got a warrant for his arrest this morning. Local school districts were notified as a precaution.

After Rankin was in custody, authorities searched his property. They did not find the AR-15 rifle from the photo, "but weapons belonging to other family members in the home have been secured," TTPD spokesman Shawn Vaughn said in a press release.

"We don't know if this post was meant as a joke or if he really planned to go to a school with a gun. However, our department takes comments like this very seriously and will take swift action to protect the children in our schools. No one wants the tragic events that we've all seen in other places to be repeated here," Police Chief Dan Shiner said.

Rankin is being held in the Bi-State Justice Building jail. No bond has been set.

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