18-year-old accused of Marion school threats in jail on no bond

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Law enforcement officers in Marion County arrested an 18-year-old they say made threats online against high schools in Marion County.

Shomari Clarke was arrested Friday after the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Ocala Police Department investigated a threat posted to Snapchat that named “every high school in Marion County” along with specific staff members at those schools.

Both agencies had to sent extra officers to schools as a precaution while they investigated.

Detectives say once the post was traced to Clarke’s account, they confronted him and he at first lied to detectives. However, they say he eventually admitted to the post and said he had been inspired by social media threats against schools in Marion County that had been made on Thursday. Those threats are still being investigated.

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Clarke is facing charges of:

• Electronic Threats to Kill or do Bodily Harm
• Sending a Written Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting or an Act of Terrorism
• Using a 2-Way Communication Device to Facilitate a Felony
• Disruption of a School Function

He’s being held in the Marion County jail without bond.

Ocala police released a video Friday and urged parents to watch it and talk to their children about the serious consequences if they make a threat against a school.

Ahead of the arrest, the school district said “every effort” was being made to catch the person responsible for making the threat.

“These interruptions to our student learning must be taken seriously, and we realize the inconvenience they cause. We appreciate your patience as we move forward with learning and understand your concerns for student safety,” the district said. “This remains paramount to everything we do – keeping our campuses safe.”

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