Florida Sheriff Perp-Walks 11-Year-Old To Set Example After Alleged School Shooting Threat

Deputies perp-walked an 11-year-old boy accused of threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a Florida middle school after the local sheriff said he wanted to set an example amid a recent rise in hoax threats against schools.

The child was filmed being led into a jail cell and shackled Monday after being arrested at his Port Orange home, south of Daytona Beach, on a felony offense of making a written threat to commit a mass shooting. His arrest followed another student reporting having heard about the threats on social media, according to a copy of the arrest report.

A search of his home recovered fake airsoft guns and fake ammunition, along with knives, swords and other weapons, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.

“He had written a list of names and targets. He says it was all a joke,” Sheriff Michael Chitwood said in a Facebook post.

Along with the video, Chitwood posted the boy’s mugshot and full name. HuffPost is not identifying the child due to his age and because he is not being charged as an adult.

Juvenile court records are typically exempt from public release in the state of Florida, according to The Associated Press. One exception is if the child is charged with a felony, as is the case of the boy arrested Monday.

No additional charges are pending against him or anyone else at this point, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told HuffPost Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether the child has an attorney and attempts to reach his mother were not immediately unsuccessful. A public information officer for State Attorney R.J. Larizza said his office is still reviewing the child’s case and they could not comment further.

Chitwood has said that there’s been “a spike” in threats being made against local schools in recent days. Similar spikes have been reported across the country following the deadly Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where a gunman killed two students and two teachers.

In a video message last Friday, Chitwood said his office had received 54 tips about school shootings and had taken two people into custody. An investigation into one of the bogus threats cost around $21,000, he said.

The sheriff vowed that, starting this week, he would release the names and photos of any minor arrested for making threats as a way to make an example out of them. The boy arrested on Monday appears to have been the first.

“Parents, get your kids in line or your checkbook’s going to hurt and your pride’s going to hurt. I promise,” he said in his video.