After posting a photo of a rifle, handgun, and tactical vest online and captioning it, ‘Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school,’ an 18-year-old in Florida was detained and charged with a felony.
After authorities were tipped off about the post, Corey Anderson, of Lutz, 15 miles north of Tampa, was detained on Sunday.
Airsoft guns were eventually discovered to be the weapons.
If convicted of making a threat of a mass massacre, Anderson could face 15 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
‘This type of threat is unacceptable. This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,’ said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
We will do everything within our power to apprehend, and pursue charges on those who make school-based threats.
Protecting students is our greatest priority. We take school threats very seriously, if you see something suspicious, please contact us immediately.’
It was unclear on Monday whether Anderson was still being held.
His arrest came the day after a 10-year-old boy in Florida was detained on the same charges, after allegedly threatening a mass shooting at his elementary school.
Daniel Issac Marquez was charged with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting after sending a text about Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral.
The boy’s alleged text read: ‘I scammed my friend’ and included a Google image of money, according to his arrest report.
‘I bought this,’ he added a few seconds later, and included an image of four assault rifles.
Marquez then stated: ‘Get ready for water day,’ referencing a recent school-sponsored event in which students participate in water activities, like playing in sprinklers.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, who touts himself as Florida’s ‘law and order sheriff,’ perp walked the child and published his mugshot.
He defended publicly exposing the juvenile by saying ‘a child pulling a trigger equals the same aftermath.’
Marceno told W radio: ‘He described wads of cash and ‘get ready’ to commit a mass shooting.
‘We don’t wait one second. We investigate every threat as if it’s real.
‘Every single threat is real. Every threat is real until you prove not.’
The sheriff also commented on the boy’s very public arrest, saying that ‘fake threats’ result in ‘real consequences.’
‘I did a campaign. Fake threat, real consequence. While I understand the boy is 10 years old – his brain’s not fully developed, he’s a juvenile – I have to tell you: When a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age.’
He also warned anyone who attempts a school shooting: ‘You don’t get to come into one of my schools in my county and present deadly force. Because we meet deadly force with delay force, without one second, without hesitation.
‘If you think you’re going to come and kill a child or a faculty member, think again. We will kill you immediately.’
During Monday’s interview, Marceno also shared that he also holds the fifth-grader’s parents accountable for the threat, as he would with the parents of any child who threatens a massacre.
‘We hold the parents accountable,’ the sheriff argued.
‘When your son or daughter are online don’t just leave them in a room online. We’ve seen juveniles researching on Columbine and how to commit a mass shooting and buy guns on the black market.
‘Nothing is off limits today. I need the parents to be parents, guardians to be guardians and make sure they monitor their children.
‘If we need to get their child help, if they document they have mental illness, we need to get them the help they need to make certain that we’re protecting everyone.’
The 10-year-old’s threat was the second time in a week the same community was rocked by the threat of violence against a school.
A woman on Thursday said she would go to a high school graduation in the area with a bomb strapped to her chest.
Tracy Carter was upset that her child was unable to graduate or attend prom due to disciplinary issues, Cape Coral police said.
Carter said that she would ‘feel bad for the children she would scare but she really needed to be heard. She stated that she didn’t plan to hurt anyone.’
The woman added that she wanted to mimic the Denzel Washington movie ‘John Q,’ about a father who holds a hospital emergency room hostage in order to secure a life-saving operation for his child.
A subsequent search of Carter’s home found no bomb making materials.
The threats come after 19 children and two teachers were murdered by an 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde, Texas.
The Department of Justice on Sunday announced a review of the law enforcement response to the initial 911 calls regarding the shooting in Uvalde, amid anger at how long it took for the gunman to be stopped.
DOJ spokesperson Anthony Coley said in a press release: ‘The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day.’
Ramos’ rampage in Uvalde carried on for 77 minutes before he was shot and killed by a border patrol agent.
Parents of the students at Robb Elementary School showed up at the school after hearing about the reports of a shooting while the massacre was continuing inside, and begged police to go in, but they refused.
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