Two teenagers who live outside Florida and one of their mothers are facing felony charges stemming from threats made against Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines in November.
A 14-year-old boy from Michigan and a 15-year-old boy from New York are both facing charges of threatening to throw, project, place or discharge a destructive device, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, threats or harassment and disruption of an educational institution, Pembroke Pines Police said Wednesday afternoon.
New York State Police arrested the 15-year-old boy on Jan. 3. The 14-year-old boy surrendered to authorities on Wednesday and was being held in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The boys “used multiple techniques to conceal their identities,” the police department said.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying them because they are minors.
Bernardo Montero, president of Somerset Academy Inc., sent a message to Somerset Academy Middle/High School parents and guardians on Nov. 11, notifying them that there would be more officers than usual at campus that week because the police department and Broward Sheriff’s Office over the weekend had “received threatening statements” against the middle school.
Students that week were not allowed to bring backpacks or other large bags to school, and administrators reduced the areas where parents were allowed to drop off students, along with other security measures, according to Montero’s letter.
Montero’s message at the time did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged threats, and the police department Wednesday did not provide further details.
Elizabeth Smith, the 15-year-old boy’s mother, was taken into custody in New York the same day as her son earlier this month, the police department said, after “knowingly instructing her son to delete evidence related to this investigation.”
Smith has since been released on bond, but the police department said she is expected to surrender to Pembroke Pines Police within the next few weeks. She is facing a felony charge of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence.
The police department said neither boy had any connection to the Pembroke Pines school or to Florida.
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