Flagler County girl, 13, arrested for school shooting threat, deputies say: 'Be ready to die'
Stream FOX 35 News
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A 13-year-old girl in Flagler County was arrested on Monday, accused of posting a school shooting threat on social media, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said the girl's mother became aware of the social media post on Sunday and made her daughter delete it. Her mother then brought her daughter to school on Monday to report what she had done. The school then contacted the Flagler County Sheriff's Office on Monday.
"12:05 be ready to die if you go to BTMS," read the alleged social media post, which included knife and gun emojis, referring to Buddy Taylor Middle School, FCSO said.
The girl, who FOX 35 is not naming due to her age, told deputies that
"(The 13-year-old girl) told deputies she and a friend were talking about school shootings, and stated she did not think the post was that serious and had no intentions to shoot anyone at school. The friend also admitted to the conversation and told deputies they were joking around on the phone," Flagler County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
MORE STORIES:
- Creekside Middle School student, 11, arrested for school shooting threat, Sheriff Chitwood says
- Flagler County girl, 13, arrested for school shooting threat, deputies say: ‘Be ready to die’
- Florida school bus driver charged with child abuse after allegedly assaulting student, police say
- Cocoa Beach boy, 13, arrested, accused of posting social media school shooting threat, police say
The girl was arrested on a charge of making a written threat to commit a mass shooting and transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice, deputies said.
"The Flagler County Sheriff's Office takes all threats seriously, especially ones made towards a school or its student body, "said Sheriff Rick Staly. "We don’t like arresting young teens, but we will protect Flagler County students"
"Thank you to the parent who found this post on her daughter's phone and reported it to the school so we could act swiftly and make a quick arrest to prevent an incident from happening at a Flagler County school. I also know this had to be a hard decision for a parent, but it was the right decision," he said.
Several students in Florida have been arrested by various law enforcement agencies after alleged school shooting threats were posted on social media. Law enforcement agencies have seen an increase in threats on social media.
11-year-old arrested for school shooting threat in Port Orange
An 11-year-old Creekside Middle School student is now in custody after he made school shooting threats. The child had a written list of names and targets. He was charged with a felony and is currently in custody of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
On Monday, Volusia County Sheriff announced the arrest of an 11-year-old boy, accused of making a school shooting threat. As promised last week in a fiery news conference, Sheriff Chitwood released the boy's booking photo (mug shot) and a video of him being in handcuffs led by deputies to the jail, typically referred to as a "perp walk."
'Do your job': Volusia Sheriff fed up with hoax school threats
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has strong words for parents and students after his department has seen an increase in bogus school shooting threats. "Parents, do your job," Sheriff Chitwood said. He said his school has spent thousands of dollars investigation potential social media threats targeting schools, some that turned out to be jokes. Some students have been arrested and charged. Sheriff Chitwood threatened if he finds out a parent knew about their student's alleged threats and did nothing about it, he'll arrest them and perp walk them alongside their child.
Sheriff Chitwood, as have other law enforcement agencies, is citing Florida law, which allows them to share photos and names of juveniles accused of felony crimes.