Eleven-year-old pupil from Florida apprehended for expressing intentions of executing a mass slaughter, alleges law enforcement.
"We recently apprehended a student from Creekside Middle School who made threats of carrying out a school shooting, either at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School, as per a post made by Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood on social media. This student allegedly compiled a list of names and targets, claiming it was all in jest.
The student was charged with a felony for threatening mass violence or terrorism through written communication, according to an incident report sent to CNN by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. Due to the minor's age, their identity will remain undisclosed.
Upon searching their residence, detectives reportedly discovered various Airsoft-style rifles and pistols, magazines, fake ammunition imitating realism, and several knives and swords. They also found a notepad containing the names of other students that the juvenile was accused of wishing to harm, according to statements made to detectives.
The arrest ensued after an anonymous tip-off from a Creekside Middle School student led deputies to a gathering of students from both Creekside and Silver Sands schools who were reportedly engaged in a FaceTime conversation with the minor. These students claimed that the juvenile exhibited multiple weapons and knives; however, they were unable to confirm whether the firearms were genuine or not, as mentioned in the report.
When questioned about the shooting plan, the juvenile admittedly joked about their comments but denied making direct threats towards either school. According to the report, they confessed to showing their Airsoft rifles and knives to the other students but did not recall whether they informed them about the weapons being replicas. The students reportedly started discussing the juvenile's plans for carrying out a shooting after seeing the rifles and knives.
The report stated that the juvenile claimed to have made the list of names as a jest, assuring no intention of harming those listed.
This arrest followed Sheriff Chitwood's video statement issued on Friday, mentioning that 54 calls regarding potential school shootings had been received through Fortify Florida's tip line, all of which were deemed fabricated.
In his statement, Chitwood warned parents that, from Monday onwards, authorities would initiate legal actions against the parents of juveniles threatening school shootings online. He underscored that the students would be publicly identified, and their parents' faces would be displayed as well, during the arrest process.
'From Monday, your little darling? We're going to begin disclosing their faces and staging perp walks when we apprehend them, and then we'll display images of you, the parents. Because it seems you're unwilling to manage your children, Sheriff Chitwood will be responsible for rearing them,' he said in the video. 'Parents, ensure your children are behaved or be prepared for financial and emotional consequences. I promise.'"
The student's actions caused concern among their peers, leading one of them to anonymously report the threats to the authorities. After the arrest, Sheriff Chitwood emphasized that parents of children making such threats online would face legal consequences from Monday onwards.
