ENTERPRISE, Fla. – A 13-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after he making false statements and disrupting class at Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, becoming the 18th student in the county to be charged in Volusia County in connection with a school threat since the South Florida shooting Feb. 14, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies said the teenage boy said someone in class had a gun in their backpack. When questioned about it, the boy used his hands to make the shape of a gun and moved his finger as if he was pretending to pull the trigger, authorities said.
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Officials said the boy asked, “What are you going to do, arrest me?”
The boy was suspended and the incident was reported to the principal, prompting deputies to arrive at the Enterprise school around 4:30 p.m. and carry out an investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The student was charged with one felony count of making a false report concerning the use of a firearm, and disrupting a school function, deputies said.
He was arrested and taken to VCSO’s District 4 office for processing, where a charging affidavit was sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice, authorities said. The department would not accept the student for incarceration and instead called for him to appear in court Wednesday, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The responding deputy also submitted an investigative cost affidavit, which was in line with Sheriff Mike Chitwood’s warning issued last week that anyone who made a threat would be held financially responsible for deputies’ response to the cases. Deputies said the cost was determined to be at least $1,082, but that it would be higher depending on the amount of resources used in each response.
[READ: Volusia sheriff says students, parents will pay $1,000 for school threats]
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office issued the following statement in response to the threats made since last month’s shooting in Broward County, asking parents to warn their children of the serious consequences that follow threats:
"Since the Feb. 14 school shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office continues to show zero tolerance for threats and jokes about shootings, bombings and other acts of violence. Anyone who continues to make such statements will face criminal charges. Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about the seriousness of making false reports at school or on social media."