Father Reports 10-Year-Old Son to Authorities After Alleged Threat to ‘Shoot Up’ Florida School
A 10-year-old Florida boy’s father handed him in after he threatened to “shoot up” a high school on Snapchat, police said Friday.
The threat was made in Wakulla County, approximately 25 miles south of Tallahassee. A pupil reported the threat, and the boy’s father turned him in on Thursday, according to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office.
Since January, there have been shootings at over 20 schools across the United States. On September 4, a teenager in Georgia killed two classmates and two professors while injuring nine other kids.
Suspect informed another student that it was the ‘final day’ for the student body.
According to the sheriff’s office, the inquiry began on Wednesday, after school concluded. Around 4 p.m. that day, Wakulla High School officials informed a school resource officer of a threatening social media post spreading regarding the school.
A high school student informed school officials that they spoke with someone on Snapchat who stated that they planned to carry out a shooting at the school.
“It’s your last day,” the message stated.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators worked Wednesday night and Thursday morning to locate the person who made the threat. The Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office’s Safe Schools Division arrested a 10-year-old kid from Woodville.
The sheriff’s office stated that officers “made contact with the subject who made the online threat at his residence in Leon County and interviewed him.”
The sheriff’s office informed Wakulla County school authorities early Thursday morning that Wakulla High School and all other schools in the division were safe.
Also on Thursday, a school resource officer involved in the investigation obtained an arrest warrant charging the 10-year-old with making a written or electronic threat to kill, cause bodily harm, or carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation involved the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE, as well as the agency’s Cyber Crime Unit, Counter Terrorism Unit, and Organized Crime Unit.
“FDLE’s contribution to this effort was timely, extensive, and greatly appreciated,” the sheriff’s office stated.