Creekside Middle School student accused of making school shooting threat to appear before judge Monday
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - An 11-year-old boy accused of making threats to carry out a school shooting in Port Orange earlier this month is set to appear in court on Monday morning.
The Creekside Middle School student was arrested on September 16 and charged with making a written threat of a mass shooting, a felony offense, according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
At the student's home, deputies recovered airsoft guns, fake ammunition, knives, swords and other weapons he was allegedly showing off to other students on video. Chitwood said the boy "had a written list of names and targets."
The boy apparently told deputies "it was all a joke."
FOX 35 has made the decision not to name the boy, due to his age, and has blurred his face in the video.
Chitwood garnered national attention for releasing the names and mugshots of juveniles accused of making school threats and "perp-walking" them, which is legal in Florida, according to Title XLVII (Criminal Procedure and Corrections), Chapter 985, Section 4,
The sheriff chose this approach after his agency spent nearly $21,000 in investigative costs in recent days to look into false school threats posted on social media.
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"Parents, if you don't want to raise your kids, I'm going to start raising them. Every time we make an arrest, your kid's photo is going to be put out there. And if I can, I'm going to perp walk your kid so everyone can see what they're up to," Chitwood stated during a fiery news conference earlier this month.
In Florida, it is legal for law enforcement to
At the boy's initial court appearance, the judge ordered him to be held in custody for 21 days. His next court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.