JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – School threats continue to be an issue just one month after the beginning of a new school year.
RELATED | 9 Northeast Florida students arrested, accused of making school threats since start of school year
On Monday morning, News4JAX learned of new threats in Northeast Florida and the arrest of a 13-year-old girl in Flagler County who stands accused of making school threats on social media.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the girl’s mother discovered the threat and reported it to deputies.
Following the girl’s arrest, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly issued the following statement:
“The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office takes all threats seriously, especially ones made towards a school or its student body, “said Sheriff Rick Staly. “We don’t like arresting young teens, but we will protect Flagler County students. Thank you to the parent who found this post on her daughter’s phone and reported it to the school so we could act swiftly and make a quick arrest to prevent an incident from happening at a Flagler County school. I also know this had to be a hard decision for a parent, but it was the right decision. Thank you to the mom for being the Sheriff of your home. More parents need to be parents and not just friends and teach their kids that actions have consequences.”
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly
Last week, three children in Jacksonville were arrested in connection to school threats. There were also other arrests connected to school threats across the state.
In Volusia County, an 11-year-old boy was recently arrested for making a school threat.
During his arrest, multiple air-soft guns that looked real along with fake ammunition were confiscated.
WATCH: SHERIFF CHIPWOOD’S FULL INTERVIEW
Following the boy’s arrest, Volusia County Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood didn’t hold back during a news conference about the boy’s arrest.
“Parents, since you don’t want to raise your kids, I’m going to start raising them. Every time we make an arrest, your kid’s photo is going to be put out there. If I can do it, perp so everybody can see what your kid’s been up to. The second point on this is, if I in any way find out a parent knew what was going on, and wasn’t doing anything, your [expletive] is getting perp-walked with them,” said Chitwood.
Retired JSO Director of Homeland Security and Investigations turned News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney saw that news conference and agrees that school threats have gotten out of hand in Northeast Florida and across the state.
He said statements by the sheriff may seem harsh, but they might be what’s needed to put an end to school threats.
“You hope it’s enough of a wake-up call at least to the parents to realize that when they start seeing other parents arrested or very young kids get arrested for this, that hey, I’ve got to take this by the head,” Hackney said, as he stressed that everything starts with parents talking to their children about the seriousness and consequences of making school threats.
He also said parents need to inspect their children’s cell phones and social media to see what they have been posting.
Did the sheriff’s statements anger some parents? Did some parents hear those statements and ask ‘How dare he tell me how to raise my kid? How dare he say he’s going to per-walk my kid. How dare he say he’s going to perp-walk me?’ Those are questions Hackney was asked after seeing Sheriff Chitwood vent his frustration over the continuation of school threats.
“I’m sure a parent is watching this and thinking the same thing, but it’s not as if law enforcement wants to raise your kid. What law enforcement is saying is, here are some guard rails, you better stay in between those or else this is what’s going to happen,” Hackney said.