Press Release from the Uvalde Police Department
Friday, August 30th, 2024
Uvalde, TX – August 30, 2024 – On the evening of Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at approximately 7:46
P.M., the Uvalde Police Department received a report of two fraudulent Instagram accounts that were used to
make threats against Uvalde CISD campuses. The social media accounts were initially believed to be
associated with a family member of a UCISD employee.
Upon receiving this report, Uvalde Police Mental Health and Family Violence Investigator Jessica Zamora, who
is assigned to the Uvalde County Threat Assessment Team, was immediately called to lead the investigation.
All individuals involved, including the UCISD employee, were interviewed. After careful review, it was
determined that the family member had no involvement in creating or managing the fraudulent social media
accounts responsible for the threat.
Through diligent work and collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety (TX DPS) Crime Analyst
Division, Detective Zamora was able to determine within 24 hours, that both fraudulent accounts were created
using the same email address. Further investigation revealed that the accounts were linked to a service
provider with an address in Detroit, Michigan.
At 3:24 P.M. that same day, Detective Zamora contacted federal partners for assistance in locating the person
of interest. On Thursday, August 29, 2024, at approximately 6:30 P.M., our federal partners informed Detective
Zamora that they had successfully located the suspect. The suspect, a 16-year-old male juvenile, admitted to
creating the fraudulent Instagram accounts and sending out the threats.
While we do not believe this threat to be credible, we continue to investigate the matter to ensure the safety
and security of our community. We want to emphasize that threats to life are not taken lightly. The Uvalde
Police Department will pursue prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Terroristic threats are not only a
serious state offense but also constitute a federal felony offense.
We also encourage everyone in our community to report any threats or suspicious activities immediately. Your
vigilance plays a critical role in keeping our schools and community safe.
We will continue to work closely with our federal partners and provide updates as the investigation progresses.
For more information, please contact the Uvalde Police Department at (830) 278-9147.