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3 Florida high school students arrested for crafting 'lethal hit list' plan in group chat, deputies say

By Dani Medina
Published  October 9, 2023 10:32am EDT
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

Stream FOX 35 News:

ST JOHNS, Fla. - Three Florida high school students have been arrested for creating a "hit list" and "lethal hit list" targeting their classmates, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. 

The boys, two of which are 14 years old and a 15 year old, were arrested and charged with written threats to kill or do bodily harm and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. They were transported to the St. Johns County Jail.

St. Johns deputies said an investigation revealed a "credible threat" against other students at Creekside High School. A slew of group text messages between the three students revealed two lists, a "hit list" for students they wanted to physically harm, and the "lethal hit list" for students they wanted to kill, deputies said. Both lists included photographs of students with faces circles, aerial photographs of Creekside High School with an area on campus circled, and the use of firearms. 

"Nothing is more important to me than the safety of our children and this is another example of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office commitment to protect the more than 50,000 students who attend classes on a daily basis," St. Johns Sheriff Rob Hardwick said in a statement. "I am proud of the youth services deputies assigned to this investigation, who acted quickly on the information that was provided and prevented a potential tragedy."

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The status of the three students at the St. Johns County Jail is unknown at this time.