A 16-year-old student at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, was arrested Thursday, September 18th, after posting a threat on Instagram and being found with a loaded handgun in his backpack. The discovery marks the first firearm recovered in a New York City school since the new academic year began two weeks ago.
The incident began at 10:17 a.m. when the student allegedly posted an image of schoolwork with the caption, “TS GMT boutta shoot the school up.” Authorities believe the abbreviation stood for “this s–t gets me tight,” an expression meaning “this makes me angry.” Instagram moderators flagged the post, and the FBI alerted the NYPD with the account details and geotagged location, which was at Cardozo High School.
By 11:45 a.m., officers from the 111th Precinct, working with school safety agents and administrators, identified the student and removed him from class. When officers dialled the phone number linked to the Instagram account, one of the students’ phones rang, confirming ownership. With a parent’s consent, officers searched his belongings and recovered a 9mm Taurus GX4 semiautomatic handgun loaded with 13 rounds. They also found three cellphones, including one sealed in a school-issued pouch. The student, a 10th grader with no prior criminal record, was taken into custody at 12:36 p.m.
“This swift response demonstrates the importance of close partnerships and the critical need for information-sharing to ensure our city and students are protected against unnecessary acts of violence,” the FBI said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Adams described the outcome as “the perfect example of the system working properly,” stressing that the incident highlighted both the dangers facing young people and the urgency of preventing illegal guns from reaching them. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who acknowledged being shaken as a parent, reaffirmed the NYPD’s commitment to keeping schools safe.
The NYC School Safety Coalition also responded to the arrest. “We want to thank the individual who alerted the FBI, our School Safety Agents, and the NYPD for protecting our children. This is the first firearm found for the 2025-2026 school year. Everyday, School Safety Agents confiscate weapons from students. Cardoza High School is not a scanning school. We were lucky — this time. We need more scanning in schools to prevent a tragedy. We need more School Safety Agents.”
No one was injured in the incident. The student faces charges of criminal possession of a weapon and making terrorist threats.
