A student at a Parkland middle school and another at a Pompano Beach high school were arrested this week in separate incidents for making written threats to kill on social media, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
A 14-year-old boy at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, which is located next to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, allegedly posted a threat on Snapchat last Friday about committing a school shooting. The social media platform contacted the Sheriff’s Office Wednesday, and he admitted to making the post to detectives in an interview Wednesday morning, the Sheriff’s Office said.
On Monday, a 15-year-old student at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach allegedly posted a video of himself holding a gun on Instagram and included threatening words in the post, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He also admitted to making the post and was arrested when he arrived at the school Tuesday.
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide further information on the nature of the two threats. Both were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center to be processed.
“These arrests should serve as a reminder to parents, caregivers and students that making threats are no joking matter,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Making a written threat to kill is a felony charge in Florida.
In the last school year, multiple South Florida students have been arrested for allegedly making threats online, for having weapons on school campus and for falsely reporting a school shooting, all of which are felonies in Florida.
The last day of school in Broward County is Monday.