Trouble-makers don’t always understand the consequences of their bad behavior, and that is especially true of young people who have grown up in the social media age. But one young person in Springfield, Ohio, is learning the hard way that some “pranks” cross the line.

Springfield Police arrested a 12-year-old girl late last month in connection with a call that there was an active shooter at Catholic Central School in Springfield. The school went into lockdown, police arrived on scene and secured the building … and within the hour, they determined the call had been a hoax.

“If there’s any good that came out of this, it was our ability to see how we actually responded to one that wasn’t a drill and how we were able to pull all of the resources together and work with everything that we have,” Cpt. Mike Kranz with the Springfield Police Division told WDTN.

Classes were canceled for the day, and parents were instructed to come to a nearby church to pick up their kids. Perhaps that was the intended result, though there is really no guessing the motives of a child who would make such a phone call.

For her, the result of the call was that two days later she was arrested and charged with inducing panic.

Given the damage that could have been done — remember, Ohio lawmakers are working on a bill that would make “swatting” a felony — she may have gotten off easy, if she is determined to have been responsible for the call.

It’s a good reason to remind our kids their words and actions can have serious consequences in the real world.

And, all that technology with which they’ve grown up makes it easier than ever to catch them.