When the attack at Virginia Tech took place, I was working less than an hour and a half south of the campus off Interstate-81. Nearly a third of my co-workers were alumni from the school or had family ties to the campus. Our supervisor was an alumnus and was personally acquainted with one of the professors who died defending his classroom. I mourned for that campus. I saw a community rally and come together to support the survivors and work to prevent this type of tragedy in the future.
I say all of these things to state that many will argue that this post on Yik Yak does not rise to the level of a threat and is a form of protected speech. Others will argue that anonymous communications should not be intruded upon by law enforcement. I disagree on both counts. The post incited fear and emotional distress. That cannot be tolerated. Law enforcement responded using valid metadata in order to rule out the potential for violence against innocent citizens. They are to be commended. My tolerance for stupidity online extends only so far.