PORT ORANGE, Fla. – An 11-year-old was arrested in Volusia County Monday, accused of threatening to commit a school shooting.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the suspect was accused of threatening to shoot up either Creekside Middle School or Silver Sands Middle School. Both are in Port Orange.
Chitwood said the boy claimed it was a joke, and he had a list of names and targets. In his house deputies found airsoft guns, fake ammunition, knives, swords and other weapons, which he showed off to other students in a video.
As promised. We just arrested a Creekside Middle School student who made threats to commit a school shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School.
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) September 16, 2024
He had written a list of names and targets. He says it was all a joke. pic.twitter.com/1yHHiD0pJj
Due to the boy’s age, News 6 is not naming him. However, he faces a felony charge of making a written threat of a mass shooting.
The boy is the latest Central Florida student to be arrested amid a spike in online school threats and rumors of potential school attacks.
Last week a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old were arrested in Volusia County, accused of posting threats on TikTok and Instagram to commit a shooting at Heritage Middle School in Deltona.
A 10-year-old and an 11-year-old were also arrested last week, accused of making threats against two separate schools in Daytona Beach.
“If you post a threat to shoot up a school, our job is to ID you and track you down. You can say you’re just joking, playing around, looking for attention - you’re going to have a felony to show for it,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a post on X.com Friday.
Chitwood and Volusia County School District officials said they were seeing people sending false tips about school gun threats to the Fortify Florida app, which allows people to report threats anonymously.
“We’re not telling you if you see something don’t say something. What we’re saying is the (expletive) has got to stop. That’s the same tip over and over again,” said Chitwood.
In addition to criminal charges, Florida law allows law enforcement to charge the parents of a juvenile suspect for the costs associated with the investigation. The sheriff’s office says these investigations are a drain on resources.
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