Teen arrested after posting school shooting threats on social media, Manatee deputies say
Social media threats about mass shootings at several Manatee County Schools resulted in the arrest of a 15-year-old, the sheriff’s office said.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bradenton Police Department began investigating the threats on Thursday and located a ninth-grade student they say made threats online.
Officials said they found evidence on the teen’s cell phone that he used Snapchat to make threats about school shootings, which the student said he did as a joke, according to a news release.
Detectives say they performed a search and no weapons were found.
Deputies arrested the 15-year-old and took him to the Juvenile Detention Center, according to a news release.
The ninth grader is a student at Bayshore High School, according to an email the principal sent to families Friday morning. School officials say he named Martha B. King Middle School, Electa Arcotte Lee Magnet Middle School and Sugg Middle School in a threat made to social media.
The School District of Manatee County acknowledged the threats in an email sent out Thursday night but said there was no reason to think schools would be unsafe Friday.
Teen arrested after school shooting threats, deputies say
“Over the past few hours, we have seen increased comments on social media regarding rumors about alleged threats to schools in our district,” district spokesman Mike Barber wrote in an email to parents Thursday night. “There is currently no credible evidence of a threat involving any Manatee District School.”
Barber said schools and law enforcement investigate all tips regarding school threats and take them seriously.
“The safety of our students and security of our campuses remains our highest priority, and we would promptly notify you of any credible threat to your student’s school,” Barber wrote.
Deputies are still investigating other social media posts. Additional officers were also sent to schools Friday as a precaution, according to a news release.
“BPD increased patrols at schools today due to the overnight arrest of a teen who admitted to making threats of violence,” Bradenton police posted on social media Friday morning.
“Our student’s safety is always our highest priority and these threats are taken very seriously. We will work tirelessly to track down the people who make these threats. This is never a joking matter,” Sheriff Rick Wells said.
School threats in Manatee County
School shooting threats have been a problem for Manatee County schools in recent years. In the past three years alone, over 100 threats have been made against schools in the area, Barber previously told the Bradenton Herald.
Many of these threats come via social media, like Snapchat and other platforms, where law enforcement officials say students often feel like they can get away with saying things they wouldn’t in person.
But despite feeling more anonymous or distanced from their remarks online, officials say threats posted to social media are more likely to result in serious consequences.
Under Florida law, written threats are treated differently than verbal threats. Since making a threat on social media usually means putting it into writing, deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office say social media threats can more easily lead to criminal charges.
The 15-year-old isn’t the only student arrested in recent memory for threats made on social media. In March, deputies arrested a 13-year-old Manatee County student for threatening to “blow up” his Palmetto middle school.
That arrest came after Buffalo Creek Middle School administrators learned about comments made in a Snapchat group, the Bradenton Herald previously reported. Even without his name attached to the message, detectives were able to track the location to the student’s home.
Similarly, there was a string of bomb threats at Parrish Community High School last year that forced evacuations from the school and FBI involvement. Following one of the evacuations during the threats, law enforcement arrested two students for posting videos to TikTok that imitated mass shootings on campus, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
A Buffalo Creek Middle School student was also charged with a second-degree felony after a TikTok video showed rounds being fired in a classroom with a toy gun was received via the FortifyFl app, a tool used for giving anonymous tips about school safety. But deputies say no credible threats were found in connection to the Parrish Community High School evacuations.
Local officials promote threat prevention
Law enforcement encourages the use of the FortifyFl app, calling it a tool to combat school violence threats, but deputies say the anonymity can also sometimes send law enforcement officials on wild goose chases.
In a news release sent out Friday morning, the sheriff’s office urged anyone who comes across threatening information about Manatee County Schools to report it to law enforcement or through the FortifyFl app.
Law enforcement and school officials have been pushing to educate students and parents in an effort to reduce school threats.
The school district collaborated with the sheriff’s office on a video that was sent out to all secondary schools in 2023.
In the video, called “Don’t Make the Big Mistake PSA,” Wells warned students about the seriousness of bringing a weapon to school or making threats.
“You will face life-changing consequences, you will be arrested, you will go to jail and you will have a criminal record,” Wells says in the video.
But Julio Jordan, a lieutenant and head of the school resource officer unit with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, previously said that it is clear not all students heed the warnings of PSAs, which is why he said it is essential for parents to stay on top of their kids’ online activity.
A spokesperson with the School District of Manatee County previously told the Bradenton Herald that social media is a major factor in the number of threats they’ve received in recent years.
“The biggest driver of this whole situation is social media. It’s a really a situation where kids make bad choices,” Barber previously said.
In the email sent out Thursday night, Barber emphasized the seriousness of the situation. “As a reminder, anyone who makes a threat of violence to a school campus is subject to arrest, and students who make a threat will also receive disciplinary consequences pursuant to the district’s Code of Conduct.”
Barber sent out a follow-up email Friday afternoon urging parents to talk to their children about the seriousness of making threats on social media.
“As we go into the weekend, this is the perfect opportunity to speak with your child about the life-altering consequences of making threats or disrupting schools using social media,” Barber wrote. “We will not tolerate interruptions to the education of our students. School safety is never a joke.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 10:12 AM.
