By Aaron Miller-
A 10-year-old Florida student has been arrested for allegedly making mass shooting threats in the wake of the tragedy in Texas.
The student from Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral is accused of sending threatening texts.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said they were tipped off about a threatening text message sent by a 10-year-old student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral on 28 May.
The School Threat Enforcement Team was notified and an investigation was immediately opened.
The boy was arrested by detectives on Saturday (May 28) by the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division after they developed probable cause.
Lee County Sheriff, Carmine Marceno said in a statement: “This student’s behaviour is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas..
“Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools! My team didn’t hesitate one second…NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat.”
A video was posted to the County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page showing the boy being arrested and placed in the cop car.
The fifth-grader was charged with Making a Written Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting, however, the Sheriff Office confirmed it was a fake threat.
The statement from Sheriff Marceno continued: “Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. It’s not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences.”
The police department was praised on social media for quickly responding to the situation regardless of whether it was a real threat or not.
The arrest comes just a few days after 19 children and two adults were tragically killed by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos at Robb Elementary School.Sheriff Marceno made a fiery statement in the wake of the tragedy, warning people against making potential threats on social media.
In a press conference, he said: “You don’t get to shoot our children. You bring deadly force in this county, we are going to kill you.”
Only yesterday, a Virginia man was arrested for threatening violence against a school on social media, police said.
Camera Sears: Image: SUFFOLK POLICE
The Suffolk Police Department in Virginia said it was notified about a threatening post shared on a social media platform at about 1:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.The police department said Sears was charged with threats of death of injury to persons and school property and booked into Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
Sears’ arrest comes as law enforcement across the country are on alert to threats targeting schools in the aftermath of a massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The massacre