An 11-year-old middle school student in Port Orange, Florida, has been charged with a felony after threatening to commit a mass shooting at a middle school, authorities said, Report informs referring to CNN.
“We just arrested a Creekside Middle School student who made threats to commit a school shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School,” Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood said in a post on social media announcing the arrest. “He had written a list of names and targets. He says it was all a joke.”
The Creekside Middle School student was charged with a felony for intimidation through a written threat of a “mass shooting/terrorism act,” according to an incident report sent to CNN by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. CNN is not naming the 11-year-old, who has been charged as a juvenile.
Detectives also obtained a list of students’ names on a notepad that the juvenile had allegedly said he “wanted to kill,” according to statements given to detectives.
The arrest came after an anonymous tip from another student at Creekside Middle School led deputies to a group of students – from both Creekside and Silver Sands schools – who were involved in a FaceTime conversation with the juvenile, the report stated.
The students told detectives the 11-year-old showed them multiple firearms and knives, but they were not able to determine if the guns were real or not, according to the report.
When detectives questioned the juvenile about plans to commit a shooting, the juvenile said he “admittedly ‘joked’ about these comments but denied making any direct threat to either school.”