Two students were arrested for allegedly making separate threats against Florida’s Broward County Public Schools both before and during the first week of school.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested on Saturday, Aug. 10, after he allegedly posted a partial photo of himself on Snapchat “which included a written threat to commit a mass shooting at BCPS officers in Fort Lauderdale.”
Authorities said he was upset over the new student cellphone policy, which requires that the devices be off or on airplane mode for the entire day, including during lunch.
“The teen was tracked down at his home in Weston and taken into custody that same day,” the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday.
Then, a girl of the same age allegedly made threats against Cooper City High School on Aug. 15, also on Snapchat. The sheriff’s office did not elaborate on the details of that incident.
School for Broward County Public Schools began on Monday, Aug. 12.
“None of this stuff is a joking or laughing matter,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a news conference in early August. “If you threaten … on social media or anywhere else, we are going to track you down and arrest you.”
Both teens face a felony charge of written threats to kill, do bodily injury, conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism. Each teen also faces an additional charge of using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
“It’s unfortunate that this happens more times than not every school year,” Tony said at the earlier news conference. “Do not allow your children to make a mistake and get a felony arrest on their record that they’re probably not going to get rid of.”
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