Two Penn State University Park students are facing criminal charges after police say a false threat was posted on social media in an effort to disrupt a final exam last December.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Penn State University Police, 18-year-old Madeline C. Steczkowski of Connecticut used the location-based social media app Yik Yak on December 16 to post that there was a bomb in the Forum Building and threatened to “shoot this place up.” The post came after her roommate, 18-year-old Carolyn E. Kahn of Florida, reportedly complained about an upcoming exam scheduled in that building.

Penn State University Police, State College Police, Ferguson Township Police, and the FBI all responded after the post was reported and determined to be a potential threat to campus safety. Investigators used records obtained from Yik Yak to identify Steczkowski as the author of the post and located her on campus on the morning of December 16.

During an interview with police, Steczkowski allegedly admitted to making the post with the intention of preventing her roommate from taking the exam. Police say she told investigators that Kahn had agreed to pay her $10 for posting the threat. Steczkowski reportedly expressed remorse and said she didn’t expect the post to be taken seriously or traced back to her, even though a mass shooting had occurred at Brown University just days earlier.

Kahn told police that she had told Steczkowski that creating a threat was a bad idea and that someone would take it seriously, according to the affidavit. After a thorough search of the building, no evidence of explosives or other weapons was found. Investigators noted that neither student owned firearms nor had researched bomb-making techniques.

Both women have been charged with four counts of terroristic threats causing serious public inconvenience, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison if found guilty. In addition, Steczkowski faces three first-degree misdemeanor counts of threat to use weapons of mass destruction, bomb threats, and one first-degree misdemeanor count of conspiracy, all punishable by five years in prison if found guilty.

The charges were filed via summons on Thursday. Preliminary hearings for both students are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on February 18 in the courtroom of Judge Steven Lachman.