Australian connection in threat that locked down Minneapolis schools

Locked down because we're under fire from Down Under?

​Rumors first surfaced this morning that there was an Australian connection to the threats that locked down the Minneapolis Public School system today. Now, police are confirming that tie, though it appears to be a frame-up:

A person mentioned in the email has a Facebook page that includes pictures with guns, but there was never a threat on Facebook, MySpace or another form of social media. The presence of guns in the Facebook photos, however, is why police and school officials took the threat so seriously.

Police don't believe the person in Australia is behind the threat, but rather think someone is implicating him. Investigators believe the person behind the account has not been in the U.S. for several years, and the person who has the Facebook page may not know they are being implicated. The investigation continues into who actually placed made the initial report to 311.

​WCCO's James Schugel adds that the Australian whose account was hacked hasn't been in the country in seven years:

The suspect who allegedly -- and originally -- made the threat hasn't been in the United States in seven years, so police believe this is a prank but continue to look into it.

The Minneapolis School District locked down all 60 of its buildings for the day after the threat said someone was going to shoot up a Minneapolis school and then end their own life.

The threat was found on two social networking sites, including Facebook, on Wednesday morning. It said the shooting would happen around 9:30 a.m.