A 10-year-old Florida student has been arrested for allegedly making mass shooting threats in the wake of the tragedy in Texas.
The student from Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral is accused of sending threatening texts.
The School Threat Enforcement Team was notified and an investigation was immediately opened.
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The boy was arrested by detectives on Saturday (May 28) by the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division after they developed probable cause.
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 fifth-grader was charged with Making a Written Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting, however, the Sheriff Office confirmed it was a fake threat.
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.”
The police department was praised on social media for quickly responding to the situation regardless of whether it was a real threat or not.
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The arrest comes just a few days after 19 children and two adults were tragically killed by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos at Robb Elementary School.
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.”
Police in Uvalde, Texas are facing scrutiny for not acting quick enough to prevent the shooting at Robb Elementary.
Steven McCraw, director of Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed there was a 40-minute gap between the arrival of the police unit on site and the moment they entered the classroom.
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In spite of 9-1-1 calls from a teacher and students inside the classrooms, McCraw said the on-scene commander considered gunman Salvador Ramos barricaded, and not in an active shooter situation.
During a press conference, he said: "If I thought it would help, I would apologise."
According to McCraw, Ramos crashed his car near the school at about 11.30am local time and entered the building shortly after.
However, it was not until 12.51pm that the tactical unit breached the door to enter and eventually kill him.
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McCraw said as many as 19 police officers had gathered outside the classroom, but made no effort to get inside as they believed 'no [more] kids were at risk' by then.
Jayden Collins