Florida sheriff releases 11-year-old’s mug shot after school shooting threat – Washington Examiner
In Florida, a sheriff released an 11-year-old’s mug shot and a video of the child being escorted into jail after making threats related to a school shooting. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood shared these materials on Facebook, illustrating a table with weapons alongside the child’s image. In his video statement, Sheriff Chitwood emphasized a proactive approach to handling school threat incidents, suggesting that he would publicly disclose the identities of minors involved in such threats, likening it to his responsibility to “raise” them in the absence of parental guidance. He stressed the sheriff’s office commitment to identifying and addressing threats to school safety, warning that even joking about such threats could lead to felony charges. Under Florida law, juvenile arrest records are typically confidential unless felonies are involved. The sheriff reassured followers that the threats were taken seriously, as the child reportedly had a list of potential targets.
Florida sheriff releases 11-year-old’s mug shot after school shooting threat
A sheriff in Florida released an 11-year-old’s mug shot and a video of him “perp walking” the child after promising to do so in relation to any school shooting threats.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood posted the mug shot and video on Facebook, showing a table covered with weapons, the child’s mug shot, and the law enforcement officer walking the 11-year-old into jail after threats of a mass shooting were made toward either Creekside Middle School or Silver Sands Middle School, according to a report.
“Since, parents, you don’t want to raise your kids, I’m going to start raising them,” Chitwood said in a video posted last week. “Every time we make an arrest, your kid’s photo is going to be put out there, and if I can do it, I’m going to ‘perp walk’ your kid so that everybody can see what your kid’s up to.”
Chitwood said the sheriff’s office would track any threat down and find out who made it.
“If you post a threat to shoot up a school, our job is to ID you and track you down,” the sheriff posted on X. “You can say you’re just joking, playing around, looking for attention — you’re going to have a felony to show for it.”
Juvenile arrest records are not allowed to be released under Florida law unless the child is charged with a felony, according to the report.
The sheriff posted the information on Monday “as promised,” saying the student had a list of people to target and that the student had shown off Airsoft guns to other children in a video.
The posting of the information follows the arrest last week of nine students between the ages of 11 and 15 in Broward County for making similar threats. Broward County is home to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which was the site of a mass shooting in 2018 that saw 17 students killed and 17 others injured. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was sentenced to life without parole in 2022.
“I can and will release the names and photos of juveniles who are committing these felonies, threatening our students, disrupting our schools and consuming law enforcement resources,” Chitwood said.
Comments on the social media posts appeared to be largely positive, though one commentator called the post “taxpayer funded theater at the expense of a child” and another person said, “I don’t agree with you. Yes, they need punished to the extent they can be but they are children.”
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