Mar 19, 2019 3 min read

An 18-year-old man is accused of making threats against Bethel Park High School and its principal in multiple anonymous emails.

Xavier Cisneros of Bethel Church Road, Bethel Park, faces a felony count of terroristic threats and misdemeanor of retaliation against a witness or victim, according to court records.

Bethel Park Detective Joelle Dixon wrote in an affidavit filed Sunday that Zeb Jansante, the high school’s principal, contacted her eight days previously about two anonymous emails he had received, one apparently pertaining to a scheduled court date of March 11 for a juvenile court case regarding a terrorist threat against the school.

“You have our attention now from the community 8chan and 4chan we will send a swat team towards your school in March 11,” one of the emails stated, following with a homophobic slur and concluding: “Many surprises are coming ;)”

The references are to two unaffiliated message board websites that have been subject to controversy regarding the material that users post.

Dixon stated that on March 16, an FBI agent contacted her about an anonymous 8chan post, reading in part: “on Monday there will be a school shooting I’m planning stop me if you can.” The post also included the name and address of Bethel Park High School and contact information for school officials.

She and the agent subsequently met with Cisneros at his home, and he told them he had seen the post but initially denied any involvement, according to the affidavit.

“Xavier then said that he was talking about his troubles with Bethel Park High School online and thinks someone may have sent an email to Dr. Jansante because they were mad about his upcoming court date,” Dixon wrote, adding that Cisneros later admitted to sending the March 9 emails to the principal.

She said Cisneros said he put the Bethel Park High School contact information, principals’ information and their emails on a message board “in hopes that others would ‘troll’ the school,” explaining that might entail “flood(ing) them with emails, calls and threats to cause a disturbance in the school.”

According to court records, Cisneros eventually admitted to “posting the threat on 8chan that he was planning a school shooting,” but he denied having a plan to commit a school shooting or possessing a weapon.

He is being held at the Allegheny County Jail on $25,000 straight bond to await his March 28 preliminary hearing before District Judge Ronald Arnoni.