WAKULLA COUNTY, FL – A 10-year-old boy in Florida is in custody after his father alerted authorities that his son had threatened to perform a school shooting on social media. The incident, which took place in Wakulla County, about 25 miles south of Tallahassee, led the boy’s father to report his son’s alarming Snapchat post to the police on Thursday.
According to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the authorities began the investigation into the menacing post on Wednesday, following its circulation on social media. The post specifically targeted the Wakulla High School, causing alarm among students and staff.
A student had reported to the school staff that a Snapchat user had threatened to perpetrate a shooting at the school, with a direct message warning, “It’s yalls last day.”
Following a strenuous overnight investigation through Wednesday and into Thursday, the officers identified the 10-year-old boy from Woodville as the source of the threat. A school resource officer obtained an arrest warrant on Thursday, charging the minor with making a written or electronic threat to kill, inflict bodily injury, or engage in a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
The Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office is appreciative of the critical role played by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Cyber Crime Unit, the Counter Terrorism Unit, and the Organized Crime Unit in the investigation. The statement released by the Sheriff’s office reassures that no school in the district, neither Wakulla High School nor others, faces any danger.