Deltona, FL – The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) has charged two more Heritage Middle School students with felonies for two unrelated threats against the school.
On Tuesday, Sheriff’s deputies responded to Heritage Middle in reference to a threat made by a 15-year-old during his third-period class. The student said that “I’m going to shoot up seventh period.” Deputies uncovered that the student is always picked up at 1:10 PM, which is before seventh period starts.
After school, deputies responded to the student’s home and conducted an interview with him. The 15-year-old was subsequently charged with making a false report concerning the use of a firearm, a felony under Florida Statutes.
On Tuesday morning, the school resource deputy was notified about a threat made by a 12-year-old student. According to the deputy, the 12-year-old was allegedly annoyed at a classmate and them “I’ll shoot up the school if you don’t stop.” The threat was made on February 20, however, school officials and the school resource deputy learned of the incident on Tuesday.
After admitting what he said during an interview with the deputy, the student said that he does not have access to firearms nor does he want to hurt himself or others. The 12-year-old was charged with making a false report, which is also a felony.
Since February 16, these unrelated incidents mark the eighth and ninth times a Volusia County Schools student was criminally charged for making threats of violence against their schools. The VCSO emphasizes that these threats are serious and can lead to criminal charges, regardless of if they are jokes or not, or if they are in person or online. The VCSO urges parents to discuss this zero-tolerance policy with their children.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.
