A 10-year-old boy arrested for allegedly making mass shooting threats has been ordered to be held in juvenile detention for three weeks.
The boy was taken in by police after allegedly texting a friend stock images of assault rifles, suggesting he was planning to conduct a mass shooting at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral, according to Daily Mail.
He was ordered by a judge to be jailed at Collier County Juvenile Detention in Naples, Florida, for 21 days.
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The School Threat Enforcement Team was notified by the father of the student who had received the texts, and an investigation was immediately opened.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement: “This student’s behaviour is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.
“Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools! My team didn’t hesitate one second…NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat.”
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A video was posted to the County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page showing the boy being arrested and placed in the cop car.
The statement from Sheriff Marceno continued: “Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. It’s not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences.”
In a radio interview with W Radio in Colombia, the Sheriff outlined that his team took the threat very seriously.
Sheriff Marceno said: “While I understand the boy is 10 years old, his brain’s not fully developed, he’s a juvenile, I have to tell you: When a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age.”
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The Sheriff explained that the boy had allegedly told his friend to ‘get ready for water day’ in reference to an upcoming school event.
The boy's lawyer, Douglas Molloy spoke to the Daily Mail, maintaining that the text threats were not serious and instead ‘an attempt at humour’.
Molloy claimed there was ‘no probable cause’ to hold the child currently and is working for his release.
The lawyer says the boy was ‘crying all day’ following his arrest.
The arrest came just a few days after 19 children and two adults were tragically killed by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos at Robb Elementary School.
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Sheriff Marceno made a fiery statement in the wake of the tragedy, warning people against making potential threats on social media.
In a press conference, he said: “You don’t get to shoot our children. You bring deadly force in this county, we are going to kill you.”
Jayden Collins