TAMPA, Fla. – Detectives have arrested an 18-year-old Florida man after receiving a tip that he threatened a mass shooting at a school in a social media post, authorities said.
Corey Anderson's post showed him with a handgun, a rifle and a tactical-style vest along with a caption that said, “Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a news release.
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Anderson was arrested at his home near Tampa on Sunday, and charged with a written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
“This type of threat is unacceptable. This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement.
The sheriff said his agency will “do everything within our power" to track down anyone who makes school threats.
“Protecting our students is our greatest priority," Chronister said. We take school threats very seriously, if you see something suspicious, please contact us immediately.”
The arrest came days after an 18-year-old entered an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and fatally shot 19 children and two teachers. The gunman was eventually killed by law enforcement officers some 80 minutes after he entered the classroom in the predominantly Latino community that sits among vegetable fields halfway between San Antonio and the U.S.-Mexico border.
In the Florida case, deputies discovered that the weapons in the photo were airsoft guns, the news release said.
Anderson was booked into jail and later released on bond, jail records show.
Records did not include the name of an attorney who could speak on Anderson’s behalf.