Overview
- Police say an Instagram post that included the phrase “shooting up the school” was uploaded from the WestPark Elementary campus just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, prompting a tip to authorities.
- Detectives traced the post to an account linked to 21-year-old paraprofessional Sharde Booker and coordinated with school resource officers to locate and arrest her later that day.
- Court records and a recorded interview show Booker admitted to making the post and acknowledged the statement was serious; she now faces counts of threatening or intimidating and interfering with an educational institution.
- Buckeye police and the school district said there is no ongoing threat to WestPark Elementary and that the district is cooperating with the investigation while limiting personnel disclosures.
- Booker had worked at the school for two years, and the case underscores how schools and law enforcement rely on location data and rapid reporting to respond to social-media threats and to review staff safety policies.