18.2-60 - Threats of death or bodily injury to a person or member of his family; threats to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property; penalty. - Virginia Statutes

§ 18.2-60. Threats of death or bodily injury to a person or member of hisfamily; threats to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property;penalty.

A. 1. Any person who knowingly communicates, in a writing, including anelectronically transmitted communication producing a visual or electronicmessage, a threat to kill or do bodily injury to a person, regarding thatperson or any member of his family, and the threat places such person inreasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury to himself or his familymember, is guilty of a Class 6 felony. However, any person who violates thissubsection with the intent to commit an act of terrorism as defined in §18.2-46.4 is guilty of a Class 5 felony.

2. Any person who communicates a threat, in a writing, including anelectronically transmitted communication producing a visual or electronicmessage, to kill or do bodily harm, (i) on the grounds or premises of anyelementary, middle or secondary school property, (ii) at any elementary,middle or secondary school-sponsored event or (iii) on a school bus to anyperson or persons, regardless of whether the person who is the object of thethreat actually receives the threat, and the threat would place the personwho is the object of the threat in reasonable apprehension of death or bodilyharm, is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

B. Any person who orally makes a threat to any employee of any elementary,middle or secondary school, while on a school bus, on school property or at aschool-sponsored activity, to kill or to do bodily injury to such person, isguilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A prosecution pursuant to this section may be either in the county, city ortown in which the communication was made or received.

(Code 1950, § 18.1-257; 1960, c. 358; 1973, c. 118; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1994,c. 265; 1998, cc. 687, 788; 2001, cc. 644, 653; 2002, cc. 588, 623.)