A 16-year-old Charlottetown boy pleaded guilty Monday morning to making a threat on Facebook against Charlottetown Rural High School last fall.

The boy told the court that he meant the threat to shoot people at the school as a joke. He said he just wanted to see if he could "get a rise" out of the friends he sent the message to and that he didn't realize it would be forwarded.

The court heard that the boy, whose identity is protected under the Youth Justice Criminal Act, used a fake identity on Facebook on Oct. 14 to send a message to two students he knew. The students called police.

The message read: "There will be a shooting tomorrow at Charlottetown Rural high school. Hide."

The students called police, and the next morning, armed offficers were stationed outside and extra precautions were taken inside, including locking all the doors with the exception of the school's main doors.

On Monday, the court ordered a pre-sentence report to determine whether the boy has any addictions or other issues, and to outline his supports at home and in the community. The boy will be sentenced Feb. 8.

At the time of the threat, school officials said it wasn't specific enough to cancel classes. There were no incidents, but some students stayed home anyway.

Police tracked the boy down through his computer in early November, and he co-operated fully with them. The teenager has apologized to school officials and to the police.

He was a student at Charlottetown Rural High at the time, but had to change schools because of what happened.