Julian Edelman helps thwart potential school shooting

Maddie Meyer | Getty Images

Sometimes all you have to do is speak out.

An Instagram direct message to New England Patriots’ wide receiver Julian Edelman, has helped stop a potential school shooter.

As reported by The New York Times, Edelman was visiting former teammate Danny Amendola in Texas late last month when he received a message on his Instagram that said, “Dude, there is a kid in your comment section that says he’s going to shoot up a school, I think you should alert the authority.”

Edelman alerted his assistant who then alerted 911. Police were able to trace the message back to a 14-year-old boy from Port Huron, Michigan. When the authorities arrived at his home, they found two rifles that belonged to his mother. The boy was taken to a juvenile-detention center and was charged with making a false report of a threat of terrorism.

“It’s not good enough anymore to disregard the comments like those as offhanded,” said Edelman’s agent, Don Yee. “All of us, including players, are learning together to take these things very seriously.”

Edelman and Yee are thankful to the Instagram follower who reached out. Edelman even plans to send something special to him for alerting them.

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