Enterprise, FL - Two more Volusia County teens have been charged with making threats to a school, bringing the tally up to 17 students who have been charged by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office in cases of threats or false statements about weapons or violence since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL.
The latest defendants are a 15 and 16-year-old boy who were arrested on Monday afternoon at Florida United Methodist Children's Home in Enterprise.
VCSO says the 16-year-old boy threatened to blow up FUMCH during class on Friday and he was suspended as a result. During lunch on Monday, he was heard speaking with the 15-year-old about the question. The younger then started repeatedly saying "I'm going to blow up the school," saying it louder each time and claiming that no one would take him seriously. Both students have been charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device, which is a felony, and disruption of a school function, a misdemeanor. They were both taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice without incident.
After several other students were charged last week, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced that defendants or their families can be held responsible for paying the cost of the Sheriff's Office response to their cases. The minimum cost has been determined to be $1,082, but the true cost could be much higher, depending on the resources needed in each individual case. Additionally, all offenders who are charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device could be detained and held in secure detention.
Photo courtesy Jacob Barone's Law Enforcement Photography and Flickr.com.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.
