Two High School Girls Arrested For Pretty Little Liars-Inspired Threats

Let's be honest, some serious lawbreaking went down in Rosewood over the years on Pretty Little Liars, but since it was a TV show, the consequences weren't always serious.

According to the Associated Press via Cosmopolitan, an Ohio high school canceled classes after two teenage girls made threats similar to ones on PLL. The two young women, ages 14 and 15, have been arrested and charged in juvenile court.

Police say the 15-year-old student created a Snapchat account using the letter “A” and posted threats about exposing classmates’ secrets, prompting false rumors about a school shooting.

Here's where it gets really scary. According to the police in Piqua, OH, the posts prompted the 14-year-old girl to write on a bathroom mirror: “I’m still going to shoot up the school. A.”

This isn't the first – and it likely won't be the last – crime influenced by popular culture. Just last month prosecutors asked the court to sentence one of the girls in the Slender Man killings (now 15) to 40 years in a mental hospital for stabbing a classmate, along with another friend, in an attack meant to please the fictional horror character Slender Man. And, back in 1981, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate then president Ronald Reagan to try and gain the attention of actor Jodie Foster. Hinckley Jr. was released from a mental hospital in 2016 after serving 35 years.

For perspective, almost everyone on PLL has done terrible things they should have served time for, including, but not limited too: Burying a stranger alive (that time Melissa accidentally buried Bethany Young or the time Alison's mom buried her, thinking she was dead), attempted murder (when Paige tried to drown Emily, when the Liars blew up Jenna's garage), stalking (Hi Ezra!), and actual murder (never forget Aria killed Shana).

Suffice to say, these are crimes and people weren't charged – or severely traumatized – because PLL was a TV show with a specific storyline. It's alarming to see these young women use the premise to fearmonger or threaten violence.