Florida sheriff releases mugshot of 11-year-old charged with false threat to carry out school shooting

Fed up with a series of false threats of school shootings, a Florida sheriff followed up on last week’s warning with action. On Monday, he released the mug shot of an 11-year-old accused of threatening to carry out a school shooting at a middle school.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced Friday that minors who threaten violence in schools will be brought forward for “public exposure,” and the perpetrators’ names and photos will be released. The announcement came after local authorities received at least 54 tips about threats in schools last week through Fortify Florida, an app that allows people to report suspicious activity to police and school officials.

Volusia County investigators and school officials worked “around the clock” to follow up on the leads, all of which turned out to be false, according to Chitwood. The sheriff said the flood of false reports about school shootings got “completely out of control” and cost authorities nearly $21,000.

“Since parents don’t want to raise their children themselves, I’m going to start raising them,” Chitwood said at a news conference Friday. “Every time we arrest someone, your child’s photo will be released. And if I could, I would take your child out as the perpetrator so everyone can see what your child is up to.”

Chitwood defended his decision Monday, posting on social media the full name, mugshot and video of an 11-year-old boy being taken to a jail cell. The boy, whom USA TODAY is not naming because he is a minor, was charged with an alleged written threat to carry out a mass shooting.

“I can and will release the names and photos of juveniles who commit these crimes, threaten our students, disrupt our school operations, and take up law enforcement resources,” Chitwood said in a Facebook post.

The sheriff’s social media posts garnered thousands of responses, with many praising Chitwood’s decision and demanding that the boy’s parents be held accountable. Others criticized Chitwood and questioned the ethics of exposing children online.

Video shows police escorting an eleven-year-old into a prison cell

The 11-year-old boy was arrested after threatening to commit a shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, a city south of Daytona Beach, Florida, Chitwood said.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday that investigators were alerted by a tip from Fortify Florida that the boy had made threats in a video chat and allegedly displayed several weapons. He also had a written list of names and targets.

After searching the boy’s room, investigators allegedly discovered a “large quantity” of airsoft rifles, pistols and fake ammunition, as well as knives, swords and other weapons, according to the sheriff’s office. The alleged list of names and targets was also seized.

The boy told investigators the threat was a joke, the sheriff’s office said. He was taken into custody and taken to the Volusia Family Resource Center for processing before being transferred to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

The video posted on social media shows the weapons that investigators had seized before cutting to police officers escorting the boy to a facility with an empty cell. The boy is seen entering the facility handcuffed and later an officer is seen placing shackles on him.

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False threats increase after shooting in Georgia

The boy’s arrest follows similar incidents at schools across the country. On Friday, Chitwood reported that local authorities had received 207 threats for the 2024-2025 school year.

“We arrested seven people for written death threats; one student, if you remember, tried to bring a loaded firearm into a Mainland (High School) football game,” Chitwood said Friday. “We’ve had 11 guns on our campus this year.”

Other incidents include two middle school students who were arrested last week after posting threats on TikTok and Instagram to commit a school shooting.

There has been a wave of violent threats against schools since the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia earlier this month. Those threats have led authorities to arrest children, close or lock down schools and increase police presence, as USA TODAY previously reported.

Contributor: Patricio G. Balona, ​​​​Daytona Beach News-Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False report of Florida school shooting: 11-year-old charged with making fake threat