A teenage boy has been arrested after allegedly posting a chilling threat to Snapchat about shooting up a school.

The 14-year-old boy allegedly took to Snapchat on Sunday to post a photo of what looked like a semi-automatic rifle with the caption ‘Shooting Playford up’.

The alleged threat was referring to Playford International College, one of South Australia‘s largest public schools.

The post also had the captions ‘Nooo what not going to school tomorrow’ and ‘is this like real or a joke’. 

Police said on Monday they had identified the alleged author of the post and had arrested a boy from the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth Downs.

After searching his house officers found a gel blaster, which police allege was the purported firearm shown in the image.

The alleged threat (pictured) was posted on Snapchat on Sunday

The teenager has been charged with creating a false belief and possessing a firearm without a licence. 

He will be summonsed to appear in the Elizabeth Youth Court at a later date. 

Gel blasters, which fire pellets containing liquid, can appear almost indistinguishable from regular firearms.

They are illegal in South Australia without the correct firearms licence. 

While the school did not send out a general alert about the Snapchat, parents shared it online which led police to reassure the school community on Sunday that they did not have ‘immediate concerns’ about student and staff safety.

Read Related Also: Melbourne ‘Nazi’ gym row: Protestors turn out in force against far-right ‘base’

However, as a precaution extra police patrols were sent to the school, which also has security guards, on Monday.  

Some parents who only learnt of the alleged threat after the school day started rushed to pick up their children.

‘It’s quite scary really because honestly, you don’t know,’ Heather Nicolson told Seven News as she picked her son up.

Tao Mills said he rushed to the school to pick up his son after he saw parents circulating the post on social media. 

Parent Tao Mills said he rushed to the school to pick up his son when he became aware of the threat

‘(I) rang the principal and she (told) me, “It’s all a hoax, it’s all sorted” … but I picked him up anyway … you can’t take a risk,’ Mills said.

‘There’s a mother in there breaking down in tears, she’s that worried about her child,’ he added, saying he was also disappointed the school did not inform parents about the alleged incident.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said he was notified of the post at about 9:45pm on Sunday and said it was ‘obviously really concerning’.

‘We take those kind of threats, whether they’re a hoax or not, incredibly seriously and there’s no room for error,’ he said on Monday.

Playford International College, which had 1447 enrolled students in 2022, was the also the subject of an alleged bomb threat in 2016.

Adelaide’s Playford International College has previously been the subject of a bomb threat