Internet troll jailed for threat to kill 200 children

An internet troll whose grossly offensive Facebook postings included threats to kill 200 US children has been jailed for more than two years after a judge heard how he spread terror in local schools.

Reece Elliott, 24, from South Shields, South Tyneside, in England, left abusive comments on tribute pages set up for two teenagers who died in car accidents, and when challenged, he sent more nasty messages directly to pupils living in Warren County, Tennessee, in the US, in February.

After a deputy sheriff contacted him to say he would shut the page down, Elliott sparked a security crackdown at local schools by threatening to shoot 200 children.