MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County teen who said he was “tired of being stereotyped as a school shooter” was arrested by deputies after they said he posted threats on social media.
Deputies said they had received over 30 tips from residents about the video posted on Snapchat Thursday.
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In the video, the 16-year-old can be seen standing in a room where he says to the camera: “I’m not going to lie, I’m tired of being stereotyped as a school shooter. … I mean, if that’s what everybody wants.” He then displays a gun.
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Deputies said several callers were able to identify the teen as a student at Belleview High School.
Investigators said when they went to the boy’s home, they learned that the gun was actually an airsoft gun
The teen told deputies the “video was a skit” and that he wasn’t being serious when he made the video.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said serious or not, the law is clear.
“If you make a social media post that people reasonably interpret as a threat to commit a mass shooting, or to kill or harm another person, you have broken the law,” Woods said.
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The teen was placed under arrest and charged with making an electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Belleview High School officials sent a message to parents notifying them of the arrest and that extra security would be at the school as a precautionary measure.
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