Teen arrested after investigation into bomb threat

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A 15-year-old former New Smyrna Beach High School student has been arrested on several felony charges following a Volusia County Sheriff's Office investigation into a bomb threat that began on September 4. 

The Edgewater teenager was arrested on Monday afternoon after deputies said he made threats on Twitter that revealed plans to commit a mass school shooting. Authorities said the teen admitted that he was planning a bombing and mass shooting, and based on evidence seized, they saw the threat as credible. 

Prior to the teen's arrest, deputies seized his phone.  They said a forensic examination revealed evidence suggesting the boy had an obsession with death, mass killings and school shootings.  Deputies said they also discovered multiple entries written by the teen about how first responders and school administrators "always forget the explosives" and illustrated making and setting off pipe bombs in a specific location of the high school.

"He also wrote of studying video from the shootings at Columbine High School and posted several images of himself holding firearms. One was a handgun, and another was later determined to be a BB gun," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Andrew Grant.

Deputies obtained a search warrant for the teen's home and searched it Monday but no bomb-making materials were discovered.  Because of the serious nature of the threats, the Sheriff's Office said the teen was held for a mental health evaluation and expelled from New Smyrna Beach High. 

The teen is now at the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center and under the care of an outpatient behavioral health program.  He is charged with four counts of making threats to discharge a destructive device and one count of making written threats to kill or do harm.  According to authorities, he acted alone.