A Los Angeles school closed Friday due to “suicide or revenge” threats posted by a former NFL player who was bullied, according to multiple reports.
Former Miami Dolphins player Jonathan Martin shared a photo on his Instagram page that caused police to believe he was making threats against his former prep school, Harvard-Westlake.
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Martin was detained and Harvard-Westlake closed for the day. Students and faculty were instructed to stay away for their own safety.
They also saw the photo of a gun and bullets, which included text that read, “When you’re a bully victim [and] a coward your options are suicide, or revenge,” as a possible threat to his ex-teammates Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey, as he tagged their Instagram accounts in the picture.
Law enforcement brought Martin in but it is unclear at this time if has been formally arrested or charged.
“The individual we believe to be responsible for the social media post has been detained and the investigation is ongoing,” police are said to have told TMZ.
Previously, Martin was in the news after accusing both Pouncey and Incognito of abusing him physically and emotionally during his time playing with the Miami Dolphins.
The two men claimed that they were “harmlessly” hazing him, but an NFL investigation determined and ruled that Martin’s claims had validity and that he was harassed.
As was previously noted, Martin is no longer an NFL player, but Pouncey still plays for the Dolphins and Incognito plays for the Buffalo Bills.
Martin’s photo and perceived threat come just over a week after a tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida that claimed the lived of 17 students and teachers.
Following the tragedy, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for a review of mental health reforms.
“Next week in Tallahassee, I’m going sit down with state leaders, we’re going have a real conversation about two things: How do we make sure when a parent is ready to send their child to school, in Florida, that parent knows that child is going to be safe?” Scott said during a joint news conference.
“Number two: How do we make sure that this individual with mental illness does not touch a gun? We need to have a real conversation so we have public safety for our schools in this state,” Scott continued.
“They’re committed to provide the resources and have a real conversation about how do we make sure we have public safety. I want to make sure that my children, my grandchildren, yours, everybody in this state, can wake up and be safe. I’m going to stay here and do everything I can.”
