Police are investigating an anonymous forum poster who praised Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and later made a threat against a Catholic high school in Fairfax, Virginia.
The online poster goes by the handle “Prophet Muhammad” and has made several disturbing statements on the Fairfax Underground website in the last month. On Friday, he posted a threat against Paul VI Catholic High School:
“Inshallah, Paul VI High School will be the scene of another massacre. Allahu akbar!”
“Inshallah” is an Arabic phrase that means “God willing.” “Allahu akbar” means “God is the greatest.” Both sayings are commonly associated with the Islamic faith.
The Diocese of Arlington, which oversees the high school, took the threat seriously. Police searched school grounds over the weekend using bomb-sniffing dogs, according to a spokesperson for the diocese.
“No threat was discovered,” said Michael J. Donohue, director of communications for the diocese, in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The online poster had already caught the attention of police by writing threatening statements concerning law enforcement officers. Police are trying to track the origins of the comments.
“In the meantime, the police have increased their presence and will continue to do so until this is resolved,” wrote Virginia Colwell, the school’s principal, in a statement to parents, students, and teachers.
The threatening messages were especially disturbing given the recent terrorist bombing in Boston. The suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, are believed to have been influenced by their radical Islamic views. The posts of Fairfax Underground user “Prophet Muhammad” explicitly endorse the Tsarnaev brothers and their actions.
“That post is obviously very threatening and disturbing, but it is also provocative in light of the attack in Boston,” said Donohue.
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