20th student arrested on suspicion of false school threat in Volusia County

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A seventh-grader at River Springs Middle School has been arrested for making a false school threat to shoot up the school, deputies with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The teen, whose name has not been released, is the 20th student to be charged since the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Deputies said the 13-year-old told several students in a boys’ bathroom that, "A kid said someone was gonna shoot up the school and I said, ‘Chill, nothing’s gonna happen and we left,’” however, when pressed for more details, the teen admitted to fabricating the story.

The teen faces charges of making a false report concerning the use of firearms on state-owned property.

The teen went before a judge Tuesday and was released to family members.

In spite of repeated warnings, 20 students have been arrested by the Sheriff’s Office for disrupting schools and inciting fear since the school massacre, deputies said.

Deputies said anyone or their families who continue to make false reports will be held responsible for 
the cost for the Sheriff's Office to investigate their cases.

“I’d like to take these kids we’ve arrested to Parkland for community service to spend time with the families who have lost love ones in this senseless tragedy,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a news release. “That would get the point across.”

Deputies once again encourages parents to talk to their kids about the seriousness of making a false report at school or on social media.

Cox Media Group