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Florida boy, 11, arrested for reporting fake school shooting because he wanted to go home early, deputies say

By Dani Medina
Published  December 7, 2023 2:33pm EST
Marion County
FOX 35 Orlando

School shooting hoax ends in child's arrest

An 11-year-old boy was arrested after making a fake school shooting 911 call in Marion County because he didn't want to be at school that day.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - An 11-year-old boy has been arrested after calling 911 to report a fake school shooting because he wanted to go home early, according to deputies. 

The boy, who FOX 35 is choosing not to name due to his age, was charged with false report of a mass shooting, utilizing a two-way communication device to commit a felony, disruption of a school function and misuse of 911, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. 

The incident happened at around 9:40 a.m. on Tuesday at Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks. A caller, identified as an 11-year-old student, called 911 to report a school shooter in the hallway of the school, according to deputies. 

The call triggered a school-wide lockdown and the arrival of law enforcement personnel and specialty units. Officials did not find a gunman or weapons and said no one was injured. All staff and students were also accounted for and were able to return to their classrooms after being evacuated. 

Detectives began to investigate who called 911 in the first place, which led them to a student at the school. The student denied calling 911, saying he left his phone and his backpack when he went to the school's clinic. It turns out the 11-year-old boy grabbed his friend's unattended phone and used it to call 911 and report an active shooter, deputies said. 

"Help, there is a school shooter walking through the hallway," the boy is heard telling a dispatcher, according to 911 audio from the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Here is the rest of the conversation:

Dispatcher: "What school?"

Caller: "Um, Marion Oaks."

Dispatcher: "What hallway are you in?"

Caller: "Building two."

Dispatcher: "Marion Oaks Elementary or Marion Oaks High School?"

Caller: "He's coming. He's coming."

*line disconnects*

Several people were able to ID the boy as the caller, adding that he told students earlier that day he wanted to go to the clinic so his parents could pick him up early from school, according to the sheriff's office. 

"All of this was a prank," the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. 

A Marion County detective made contact with his parents, who refused to speak without a lawyer present. 

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"This student put fear into his fellow students, staff, and parents. And for what? A prank? Because you wanted to go home?" Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. "I will not tolerate my young citizens being fearful of going to school because you wanted to be a ‘jokester’ in hopes of going home. The law requires that any person who makes these types of false reports pay restitution for the cost of the law enforcement response which, in this case, will equal hundreds upon hundreds of man-hours. This young man is going to need to mow a lot of lawns to pay that bill."

The 11-year-old was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail.