Two Pine Ridge HS Students Arrested Following Social Media Threat

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Deltona, FL - Two high school students end up in handcuffs after making threats to shoot up Pine Ridge High School on social media.

On Wednesday (December 12th), the Dean of Students at Deltona High School approached their school resource deputy with a tip from a student.

According to the deputy, the tip dealt with a post they found on Instagram which stated "TILL I SHOOT UP PINE RIDGE" with a countdown clock displaying 11 hrs. 35 min. 27 sec. Below that was a comment that said  "y'all betta watch out he on the loose."

That's when the Deltona High School SRD forwarded the tip to Pine Ridge's SRD.

When asked how the student found the post, she told them that she was scrolling through Instagram when she found it. She also advised that both accounts that were in the post had removed it not long after.

However, she apparently saved screenshots, which she gave to the deputies.

It wouldn't be long until VCSO deputies were able to identify the owner of both accounts, two 16-year-old male Pine Ridge students.

Deputies would make contact with one of the students at their home, who said that the post was made as a joke because he was caught cheating on a test. He also said he didn't intend for the post to be sent out to other people.

Then, just a couple of hours later, deputies would arrive at the other students home where they made contact with him. He told deputies he knew exactly why they were there.

He told deputies that he encountered the post through a message on Instagram from his friend, the other student, but it was supposed to be a joke sent around to other friends.

He said he didn't think that the post would cause this much alarm.

Both students were arrested for written threats to kill, they were both transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice where they were detained.