Coral Springs police on Friday arrested an 18-year-old high school student for threatening to shoot up a school and posting the message on social media, causing panic in several counties throughout the state.

J.P. Taravella High School student Catrina Petit was arrested and charged with "multiple felonies," according to a Coral Springs Police Department Facebook post.

Police said she sent the threat fraudulently using another student’s name and computer access.

Broward County Public Schools wrote on its Facebook page that the student admitted to the threat and said she meant it "as a joke."

The hoax panicked parents and students from around much of the state Friday and led to multiple police agencies and schools posting messages saying the viral online threats were not credible.

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"It's a hoax," wrote the Volusia County Sheriff's Office on its Facebook page Friday morning. "But please know that deputies, police, and school guardians are taking every potential threat seriously, and extra patrols of our school campuses will continue through the end of the school year."

The warnings led to hundreds of comments on law enforcement Facebook pages, including several from people who were keeping their kids home.

"Have kept both of my grandsons home from school today, it's better to be safe than sorry, everyone be safe out there," wrote a poster on the Daytona Beach Police Department's page.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office also addressed the threat as it circulated among South Florida, as well as Seminole County, where Lake Mary High School was threatened. The post at one point even reached a school district in Minnesota.

Volusia County Schools were also aware of the threat.

"The threat is actively being investigated by law enforcement and has been determined to be 'non-credible," the district said Friday morning in a statement. "We are working with law enforcement to determine the source. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have extra security on campus today. We will stay vigilant throughout the day to ensure everyone’s safety."

Mainland High threatened

Daytona Beach Police said the threat was also made to Mainland High School and officers were actively investigating the situation.

"We have extra officers patrolling the school and on campus and are doing everything we can to keep the students and staff safe," the department said Friday morning.

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said there was no threat against any specific Flagler school and that patrol efforts were enhanced throughout the district.

Coral Springs did not specify what the student was being charged with, but issuing a threat over social media by text message or through e-mail can be a crime, punishable by up to five years in federal prison.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida school threat ends in arrest of Coral Springs girl, 18