- April 23, 2024
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Two students at Indian Trails Middle School were arrested the evening of Dec. 13 after another student heard them talking on a school bus Dec. 12 about planning a school shooting, according to a news release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
The case came to the attention of school resource deputies after a girl who'd overheard the two boys' conversation reported it to school officials, telling a school dean, Justin Cronk.
Cronk told deputies that the boys' comments about carrying out a shooting in school had "upset [the girl] greatly to the point that she started crying," according to a charging affidavit.
The girl said that she'd heard the boys talk about carrying out a shooting, and that the older boy, 14, had said, "It’s not going to be today, but at the formal," and had added, "There were going to be a lot more people in one spot."
The boy was "advising her to hide," and had said, "I’m not going to get killed, and I will be fine."
They had then told her they were going to shoot up teachers and students, according to her statement to Cronk.
The younger of the two boys told Cronk that he'd been on the bus with the 14-year-old boy, and the 14-year-old had "told him to stay on the 200 side of the building, advising if you hear any loud noises to hide. Stating he might pull the fire alarm to get people in the hallways, or he will do it at the school formal dance," according to the charging affidavit.
The older boy told Cronk that the younger boy "kept telling him not to come to school tomorrow [Dec. 13] or the school formal dance," according to the charging affidavit.
The younger boy refused to provide a written statement when Cronk asked him to.
When deputies arrived to the school, one of the boys, the 13-year-old, had already been suspended and picked up by a parent. The parent and student were called back to the school to speak with law enforcement.
When a deputy asked the 13-year-old boy's mother if he had any access to weapons, she replied that there were "no weapons in the house other than a cross bow.”
The 14-year-old, speaking to deputies, "was down-playing his role in the conversation that he had on the bus," and "stated he felt as [if] it was a joke," according to the charging affidavit.
"After conducting interviews it was determined that both [of the boys'] statements were threatening in nature and did cause [the girl] to be in fear for her safety," the charging affidavit states.
The boys are charged with false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, a felony, and will be processed at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Center and turned over the to Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the news release.
“Threatening to bring guns on campus or to shoot anyone is no joking matter and has again led to the arrest of two students,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the news release. “The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has a zero tolerance policy on school threats. We don’t like making these arrests but all threats will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated and, where appropriate, arrests or charges will be made. Parents – talk to your children. Just like being in an airport or on a plane, make sure your children know what is appropriate language and behavior and what is not. Get involved in what they are doing online, too. This behavior must stop and only you can stop it by talking to your kids and knowing what they are doing and feeling.”
“I ask all our parents to sit down with their children and have a serious discussion about school safety,” Flagler Schools Superintendent James Tager said in the news release. “We, along with Sheriff Staly, are committed to ensuring our schools are safe learning environments and, as we’ve seen numerous times over the past few weeks, any threat to that safety will be dealt with in a serious manner.”
