Exasperated with a spate of false school shooting threats, a Florida sheriff promised last week to post the picture of any “kid” who threatened school violence — then he quickly followed through on his statement.
On Monday, the sheriff, Mike Chitwood of Volusia County, posted a picture and video of an 11-year-old boy who, he said, had made written threats online to commit a mass shooting at a middle school.
Sheriff Chitwood shared his plan on Friday at a news conference in DeLand, a city about 40 miles north of Orlando near Florida’s Atlantic coast. He said that since parents don’t want to raise their children, “I’m going to start raising them.” Speaking alongside school officials, he promised that on Monday he would start posting photos of those arrested.
“Every time we make an arrest,” he said, “your kid’s photo is going to be put out there. And if I could do it, I’m going to perp walk your kid, so that everybody can see what your kid’s up to.”
On Monday, video of the 11-year-old being escorted by officers while in handcuffs was posted on the Facebook page of the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, with the caption, “as promised.”
A post on the Facebook page for the sheriff’s office also named the 11-year-old boy and identified him as a resident of Port Orange, Fla., and a student at Creekside Middle School. He was charged with making written threats to commit a mass shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle Schools, a felony, according to the page, which also posted his mug shot.
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