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3 children arrested after Marion County high schools receive shooting, bombing threats

Students received texts with threats on Jan. 22

Students received text messages about school shooting and bombing threats in Marion County on Jan. 22, according to police. (Ocala Police Department)

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Three children were arrested after Marion County high school students received school shooting and bombing threats last month, according to the Ocala Police Department.

In a release, police said students from Forest, Vanguard and North Marion high schools received those threats via texts from an unknown number on Jan. 22.

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“We shooting the (redacted) out of vanguard high on my dead (redacted) granny,” one text reads. “I’m tired of yall (redacted) dissin.”

During the investigation, a detective managed to identify three young children from Peoria, Illinois as being “responsible for the threats,” police added.

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The release shows those three children were ages 12, 13 and 14, respectively. All three were arrested.

“School safety is a top priority for our agency and we take threats like this very seriously,” the release reads. “If you ever come across a threat like this, especially towards a school, please call law enforcement immediately.”

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