A 15-year-old boy was arrested on a felony charge for making a threat against a Brevard County school and Sheriff Wayne Ivey shared the boy’s name and photo on Facebook with a tough-talking message, adopting a relatively new practice used by other Florida sheriffs to send a warning to other students and their parents.
In making the information public Wednesday, Ivey said this was intended as a strong message for anyone “thinking about threatening our schools here in Brevard County.” It was accompanied by a photo of the suspect sitting in the back of a patrol car with his hands behind his back. It wasn’t clear if the teen was handcuffed in the photo.
Wearing a dark-colored T-shirt, the teen looked directly into the camera, his long, brown hair hanging slightly past his shoulders.
“I don’t care who you are, how old you are, or even where you are, if you threaten to harm our children, our teachers, or our schools, I promise you we will find you and lock you up!!” Ivey wrote in the post. “If you want to mess around in Brevard County, you’re gonna find out.”
The teen was arrested for electronic or written threats to kill. He was booked into the Juvenile Detention Center on felony charges.
FLORIDA TODAY is not naming the teen per our policy of not naming minors. It’s not clear if he will face charges as an adult. A message was left with Brevard County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
How suspect was caught; why he threatened to shoot up a Brevard school
The lengthy post by Ivey said BCSO received a tip from the FBI regarding a TikTok comment the 15 year old made about a Brevard County school. It was not clear when the comment was made and which Brevard County school it targeted. The post added that agents from the General Crimes Unit and district security worked quickly to investigate the threat.
Authorities said the teen told agents he was talking to a friend when the friend allegedly encouraged him to write the comment regarding shooting up the school.
“We don’t care if you don’t have access to any firearms or were just taking a dare from friends as this is not a joke and saying something of that nature is not going to fly in Brevard County,” the post read. “Parents, talk to your kids and make sure they understand that we have had enough of this crap taking place!! I encourage you to sit down with them and explain the magnitude of harm they cause, not only to others, but themselves as well, when making comments and threats like this.”
As of Thursday morning, the sheriff’s Facebook post had been shared more than 1,000 times and had more than 740 comments. The majority of comments praised Ivey for identifying the teen and posting his photo.
“Thank you Sheriff! Show him tough love that he has missed out on!”
“Kudos for setting the example!!”
“I can’t love this enough!”
“Good for you Sheriff!!! More need to follow your footsteps!!”
There were some comments that showed sympathy for the teen.
“I’m sure this is going to be a very unpopular comment, but I hope this kiddo gets some support. Most often the kiddos who make these threats have been victims of bullying. Unfortunately, at this age, they do not know how to handle their feelings… You can see the sadness in this kids (sp) eyes.”
“he’s still a minor so to shame him on the internet is pretty sick imo (in my opinion).”
Volusia County releases names/photos of minors who threaten schools
Ivey’s actions follow those of Sheriff Mike Chitwood in Volusia County, who early last month threatened to start posting videos and releasing identities of minors who made school threats. Chitwood followed through a few days later making an 11-year-old boy participate in “perp walk” after the teen was arrested for allegedly making a school shooting threat.
Chitwood released the suspect’s name and video of him in handcuffs and ankle chains. At least three other Volusia county teens faced similar consequences last month for also allegedly making school threats.
This is the first time Ivey has shared the name and photo of a minor arrested for making a threat against a school.
A male 13-year-old Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High student was arrested in September by Cocoa Beach police for making an “electronic threat to conduct a school shooting.” The department did not identify the student.
An Arkansas man, Phillip Taylor, also was arrested last week for making a bomb threat against the same school.
The arrests follow a nationwide surge of threats prompted by a deadly Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, and subsequent local threats.
Last month Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Mark Rendell sent out a districtwide email to parents reassuring them that the district — along with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office — was monitoring the situation and that no threats were determined to be credible at the time.
Security was increased across the county and it was announced that starting this month, metal detectors will be installed at all high schools throughout the district.
Spitzer is a Trending Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sheriff: Teen arrested on charge of threat to ‘shoot up’ Brevard school
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